Weekend thunderstorms spark more wildfires
Fire crews on the way to a grass fire sparked along side Hwy 200. Photo Credit Erin Jusseaume Clark Fork Valley Press
Crews on scene were able to keep the grass fire to under 1/4 acre. Photo Credit Erin Jusseaume Clark Fork Valley Press
Plains Rural Fire Department making their way to the grass fire this weekend. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
With smoke inundating the county, it hasn’t stopped fire crews from getting to sparks as quickly as possible. Photo Credit Erin Jusseaume Clark Fork Valley Press
Storms that passed through the region over the weekend sparked 18 new fires that saw all hands on deck to get them under control.
“The majority of the fires sparked up both north and south of the Bend Guard Station,” said Calvin Minemyer of the Plains DNRC office.
Authorities believe that 80 percent of the fires that began were in fact due to lightening strikes that occurred.
Even with surrounding counties experiencing accelerated fires, the county is still with limited resources. This is largely due to assisting on those larger fires with man power and machinery where they can.
“We still have limited resources, but over the weekend, we saw a great joint effort with the State, US Forest Service, Plains and Paradise Fire Departments and Private Contractors. They all banded together to get to each fire they could to get control and containment best they could,”said Minemyer.
“We also had great air support that were able to get onto these fires and keep them within reason while ground crews worked to get to each of them individually,” added Minemyer.
Even though there has been a little rain over the last week, it doesn’t mean that the county is out of the woods.
Though the majority of the fires were seen in the Bend Guard area, there was also a spark up in the west part of the county in Noxon and one on the side of Hwy 200 at MM 69.
“Some local residents were already at the grass fire on MM69 when crew arrived. They were doing their best to stamp out what they could and made a great effort to contain until crews got there with more effective gear,”said Minemyer.
The MM69 fire ended up being less than a 1/4 of an acre, while the largest spark up over the weekend was approximately 7 acres.
Even with limited resources, county crews still have the essentials to fight fires effectively and quickly. Ensuring that solid team work and experience is on hand to combat any small start ups before they get the opportunity to take off and do real damage.
The country side is still very dry and Stage II Restrictions also still need to be followed. Restriction reminders include; no campfires, no smoking except within an enclosed vehicle or building, authorities also ask that you do not dispose of your cigarette butts out the window whilst traveling and please adhere to acts that are prohibited during the hours of 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. daily.