Category Archives: Fire Information and Status

Glacier Park plans prescribed burn on Big Prairie

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Glacier Park wants to perform a 260-acre prescribed burn on Big Prairie sometime within the next month . . .

A prescribed fire project is planned in the North Fork area of Glacier National Park, approximately four miles northwest of Polebridge in the next month.

Approximately 260 acres are planned to be burned in the Big Prairie area, depending on weather and fuel conditions. This is in addition to the 141 acres of prairie that were successfully burned last spring.

The primary objective of the burn is to reduce the numbers of lodgepole pine seedlings and saplings, which are encroaching on the native prairie grassland. Managers hope to reduce the number of these young lodgepole pine with fire and improve the vigor of the native grasses and shrubs, while maintaining some lodgepole pine.

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Flathead Valley fire lookouts

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The Flathead Beacon posted an interesting article on fire lookouts . . .

Hiking to the remote mountaintops of the Flathead Valley can be a humbling admonisher of nature’s forces, but some of Montana’s peaks and ridges also bristle with a reminder of mankind’s attempt to subdue that vigor.

Like cabins in the sky, fire lookouts — a term used to describe both a person and a place — rose to prominence a century ago, when wildfire detection became a priority following the massive fires of 1910, and the U.S. Forest Service launched its fire lookout program in earnest.

In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed more than 5,000 towers across the country, often in remote and inaccessible locations, and today, although modern technology and airplane surveillance play larger roles in spotting flames, the lookout program remains intact.

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Congress working on new way to find major wildfires

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A bipartisan effort is shaping up to devise a better funding formula for handling big wildfires . . .

A bipartisan effort is underway in Congress to change the way the country pays to battle its most catastrophic wildfires.

Lawmakers from Oregon and Idaho met with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Monday to discuss the budget reform.

President Barack Obama’s proposed budget would prevent the diversion of money intended for forest thinning and other wildfire prevention efforts.

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A new approach to paying for major wildfires

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The Obama administration wants to pay for catastrophic wildfires with natural disaster funds . . .

The Obama administration’s proposed 2015 budget aims to change how the federal government pays for catastrophic wildfires.

In the past, large wildfires were paid for through the Forest Service budget. If a large fire broke out, the service would “borrow” money from funds used for forest restoration and other projects.

In the past, the Forest Service spent about 16 percent of its total budget on firefighting. But in more recent years, that figure has dramatically increased to about 40 percent, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said last week.

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Flathead Valley’s smoky haze coming from Idaho

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In case you were wondering why the air looked a little murky . . .

The Flathead Valley was socked in with smoke Thursday for the first time this summer, and according to the National Weather Service most of it was drifting in from wildfires in Idaho.

“Throughout Idaho there’s a lot of smoke,” meteorologist Marty Whitmore said Thursday morning. “We were in a westerly [wind] flow earlier this week, but now we are in much more of a southwesterly flow.”

There are five fires in Idaho that have exceed 10,000 acres, including the 108,094-acre Beaver Creek Fire and the 131,258-acre Elk Complex.

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Local fires under control so far

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Wildfires in this corner of Montana are under control as of this morning . . .

While our neighbors to the south are dealing with considerably more wildfires and the resulting smoke, the northwest corner of the state hasn’t yet had any starts blow up to something more serious.

Authorities said to credit rapid responses, and wildfire location.

Three helicopters on Monday “hammered with water” the 100-acre Stoner Creek blaze just 2 1/2 miles west of Lakeside and prevented its further spread toward structures, the closest just a quarter of a mile away.

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Fire near Lakeside grows to 100 acres

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Crews are fighting a fire near Lakeside and dealing with two fires in the Bob Marshall Wilderness . . .

Firefighters were aggressively attacking the Stoner Creek fire on Monday, Aug. 19 as the 2013 wildfire season arrived in the Flathead Valley. The Stoner Creek fire started on Aug. 18 along Blacktail Road in Lakeside and is one of three active fires in the area.

The fire had burned 100 acres by Monday afternoon and was a quarter mile away from structures, according to Flathead National Forest Public Information Officer Wade Muehlhof. No evacuations had been issued by Monday evening…

The Stoner Creek fire is one of three active fires being managed by the Flathead National Forest…

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Fire in Bob Marshall Wilderness grows to 1,375 acres

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Wildfire activity in “the Bob” picked up a little yesterday . . .

A lightning-caused fire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness grew to 1,375 acres on Saturday.

The Damnation Fire was at 150 acres Friday before active burning in the Damnation and Lewis creek drainages increased its size.

The fire, approximately 21 miles east of Swan Lake, is burning primarily in previously burned areas, particularly the area burned by the Lewis Fire in 2000.

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In Montana, a relatively quiet fire season so far

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Fire season in Montana has been pretty manageable so far . . .

Despite the smoke and occasional buzz of an air tanker, the 2013 fire season in Montana has been quiet, historically speaking.

Eleven fires totaling 35,220 acres remain active in the state, all but two of them burning west of the Continental Divide.

Across Montana, 48,637 acres have burned this year, according to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center. The center lists nearly 690 human-caused fires, which have burned about 15,000 acres statewide. Around 380 lightning fires have burned nearly 34,000 acres.

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Wildfire season comes to the Flathead National Forest

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The Forest Service is dealing with two lightning-triggered fires in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Here’s the official press release . . .

Fire managers on the Flathead National Forest are managing two fires on the Spotted Bear Ranger District. Both are believed to have been started by lightning strikes from the storm that passed through the area on August 11, 2013. Both are in the Bob Marshall Wilderness area and will be managed so they can play their natural role in the wilderness while providing for public and firefighter safety and protecting values at risk.

The Snow Creek fire is burning about 20 acres and is located up the Snow Creek Drainage. The fire is close enough to Black Bear Cabin that fire fighters are starting to implement structure protection, but there is no immediate threat. There may be some future impacts to the trails in the area depending on where the fire grows.

The Damnation fire is covering more than 150 acres and is growing to the east and north-east. This fire could impact trail access as well. Managers are working to keep area trails open with crews on the ground to observe fire location and behavior; however trail closures to ensure public safety may occur as fire conditions dictate.

Growth is expected today, August 16, 2013, as the weather forecast calls for high temperatures, low relative humidity and wind. Please contact the Spotted Bear Ranger District before heading into these areas to ensure you have the latest information on conditions: 406-758-5376.

As firefighting resources are needed to respond to natural wildfires it becomes even more important for everyone to thoughtful and careful in their use of fire in the forest. The forest is not currently in fire restricts, but the fire danger is high in the Flathead Valley, meaning a small spark or an unattended fire of any kind can start a wildfire and it could quickly spread.