Open burning season begins in Flathead

Open burn season for Flathead and northern Lake counties begins Thursday, March 1.

Burn permits are not required between March 1 and April 30, but will be required from May 1 through June 30. People are advised to check air quality before each burn at the Flathead City-County Air Quality website or by calling 751-8144. The ventilation forecast is updated by 5 p.m. each night for the next day.

The state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation advise people to get their burning completed early, as no burning will be allowed during the months of Montana’s fire season in July, August and September.

“Spring is a great time to clean up yard and garden debris, to improve the defensible space around your home, and prepare for this fire season,” the state agency stated in a press release. “But, escaped debris and agricultural burns are also the top causes of human-started wildfires in the Flathead Valley, so once the snow melts, please be careful, have a plan in place and take care to prevent any escaped debris burns.”

For more information on the Home Ignition Zone or creating defensible space around your home, contact the Fire Prevention Specialist for the Kalispell Unit of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation at 751-2270.

Residents planning to burn should remember:

- Debris burning seasons are for burning natural vegetative yard and agricultural debris only.

- Build piles with dry materials so they burn clean and fast, and refrain from burning wet grass or material that will smolder and produce excess smoke.

- Build piles of manageable size and in areas clear of any surrounding or overhanging vegetation.

- Check the local weather forecast and do not light your fire if windy conditions are predicted.

- Do not leave your fire unattended.

- Have enough water, tools, and people on site to help put out your fire if necessary.

- Your fire is not out until it is cold to the touch.

- Call 911 immediately if your fire does burn out of control.

There are many ways that you may decrease the chance of your home igniting in a wildland fire. To help prepare for wildfire season, use debris burning seasons to keep the area around your home “Lean, clean and green.”

• Remove any shrubs planted immediately adjacent or touching your home.

- Remove branches that overhang or touch your home.

- Trim all branches up 6 to 10 feet from the ground.

- Thin trees or small clumps of trees, so the longest branches are at least 10 feet apart.

- Clean out gutters of all leaf and needle debris.

- Rake all leaves out from under decks, porches, stairs, and around the perimeter of your home.

- Keep the grass mowed short or irrigated 30 to 100 feet from your home.