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Montana Governor Steve Bullock issued an official state of emergency on Sunday, July 23, 2017.

With firefighters stretched to their limits throughout the state, the eastern borders are the worst hit at the moment. That is not to say that the west has come out unscathed.

Just in the month of July, Sanders County saw the Lazier Creek 3 fire come alive due to dry lightening. Mother Nature’s combination of hot, dry rising heats are the right recipe for forest fires to really take hold.

As the larger fires around the state continue to burn with a combined acreage of over 200,000 now burned, resources within most counties are now running on the shorter levels.

Sanders County firefighters with the US Forest Service are ready and alert should any new fires ignite.

“We have some of our firefighters helping in Missoula and Superior,” said John Hamilton of the US Forest Service.

With the current state of emergency for Montana, it would seem that though some departments are able to offer extra man power on the ground they aren’t having those fire-fighters travel too far out of their county as they could be called back at a start of a spark.

“Here in the county we are just a spark away. Last years big fire was started by a human, and we don’t want to see that kind of fire again this year,” added Hamilton

“We are really fortunate that we aren’t seeing the fires that being seen in the east, largely because we haven’t had that spark,” said Hamilton.

Like most counties within the state the Sanders County emergency services departments work closely supporting each other and putting together contingency plans should the need to be used.

“We’re adequately staffed here at the US Forest Services, but the DNRC I’m told are fully staffed, so should anything arise we can support each other, “ said Hamilton.

With Stage II restrictions now in effect, it’s important that all residents understand the severity of an impending fire. As crews work across the state at several different blazes, it’s imperative that everyone does their part to ensure we stay ‘spark free.’