Stage 2 restrictions for most of Northwest Montana

Stage II fire restrictions will go into effect Friday across most of Northwest Montana, the Flathead Office of Emergency Services reported Thursday.

Jurisdictions implementing the restrictions include: Glacier National Park; Flathead National Forest excluding the Bob Marshall and Great Bear Wilderness; Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation state land; Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks; along with Lake, Sanders, Flathead and Lincoln counties.

The Kootenai National Forest is going to Stage I restrictions, however all surrounding private land classified as forested is under Stage II restrictions, the Flathead EOS reports.

Stage II restrictions prohibit camp fires and smoking in certain locations.

For a complete list of prohibited activities and exemptions in Stage I and II restrictions visit online at https://firerestrictions.us/mt/

The intent of Stage II restrictions is to effectively reduce the number of human-caused fires during periods of very high fire to extreme fire danger. Fire danger in the Flathead is currently rated as “very high.”

Flathead County has dispatched firefighters to 218 wildfire incidents since July 1. The majority of these fires have been human-caused, the ESO reports.