County imposes fire restrictions

As persistent hot and dry conditions continued to fuel fires, the Flathead County commissioners on Tuesday approved fire restrictions for private property in the county.

A new fire emerged Tuesday along a road in the Bear Springs area between Lost Prairie and Little Bitterroot Lake, leading to a considerable firefighting response from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the Marion Fire Department.

Because of the fire’s proximity to the road, there is speculation it may have been one of several recent fires caused by people. There was no acreage estimate for the fire by late afternoon, but it attracted engines from the DNRC, the Marion and Smith Valley fire departments and a state helicopter.

Recent fire activity in lower-elevation areas around the county prompted the commissioners to approve stage one restrictions, which apply to private lands.

The restrictions ban fireworks, require that campfires have a fire ring no larger than three feet in diameter and limits smoking to buildings, vehicles or areas that are cleared of vegetation.

“It’s just we’ve been so dry in the valley for so long,” said Lincoln Chute, fire service manager for the county Office of Emergency Services. “About 80 or 90 percent of our grass areas are cured out ... we’re just concerned that if something gets away, it could get pretty ugly. It’s not so much the restrictions, but more of a wake-up call to the public.”

Chute noted that over the weekend there were several illegal fires, including some debris burns, that led to firefighter responses. One involved a slash pile that was 12 feet in diameter and 8 feet high.

“Hopefully, people will be vigilant and we can get through without any incidents in the valley,” Chute said.

Hot and dry weather revved up two fires Tuesday in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and another fire burning seven miles southeast of Swan Lake.

All of the fires had been mostly dormant over the last week, but they were putting up smoke plumes that could easily be seen from the Flathead Valley by the afternoon.

Inside the wilderness, the Big Salmon Lake Fire was estimated at 4,300 acres and the Hammer Creek Fire at 5,500 acres. Both fires grew slightly on Tuesday.

 The South Fork Lost Creek Fire that is burning just to the west of the wilderness boundary also picked up, but that burning activity was mostly within the 1,710-acre fire’s perimeter, according to Jesse Best of the Montana DNRC in Kalispell.

“Folks are probably going to see that one for the next couple of days,” Best said. “It’s still doing what they project it to do” by burning within its perimeter.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.