Flathead National Forest plans prescribed burns

Flathead National Forest officials are planning spring prescribed fire projects when weather and air quality are favorable.

People can expect to see smoke in various places in the Flathead Valley depending on burn locations and weather conditions.

The Forest follows a prescribed burn plan for each project, designed to reduce the potential for an escaped wildland fire or other adverse effects like excessive smoke.

“Generally, the Forest uses wind speed, temperature, humidity, fuel moisture data and future weather forecasts to inform whether or not to move forward with a burn,” said Lauren Alley of the Flathead National Forest Public Affairs Office. “Similar to a wildland fire situation, we may use fire behavior models to see how all of these factors come together.”

Alley explained that other factors influence prescribed burns.

“Depending on the complexity of the project, we may bring in a long-term weather forecaster or work closely with the National Weather Service to understand site-specific weather conditions to supplement regional forecasts. Other agencies or other forests can also play a role in providing an independent look at a project, so for example at any given time we could be sending our plans out to the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation or Glacier National Park, and we could be looking at their plans to provide that objective third-party perspective. We’re fortunate to have a lot of firefighting agency partners to do this,” Alley said.

The type of burn also depends on the goals and conditions.

“We are also looking for different conditions depending on what the objectives are. For example, pile burning can happen in the spring when it’s snowy and cool because we want the fire to stay only in the pile, whereas broadcast burning where we want the fire to creep and spread needs drier conditions,” Alley said. “To mimic some aspects of natural fire behavior for ecological health, sometimes fire needs to be hotter to for tree regeneration (Western larch for example). All of those objectives would be part of the burn plan for a particular project.”

Open burn season is March 1-April 30, with a burn permit required May 1-June 30. Open burning resumes Oct. 1-Nov. 30. Because the National Forest does larger scale burning, it also receives state and county approval, in compliance with the Clean Air Act.

Fire managers time the projects to comply with air quality standards and state and local regulations to reduce smoke impacts in surrounding communities.

This spring’s project areas include:

Swan Lake Ranger District

• Huey Timber Sale - This project includes broadcast burning in timber harvest units in the Stoner Creek drainage near Blacktail Mountain, west of Lakeside. The prescribed fire treatments will reduce fuels, regenerate vegetation and improve wildlife habitat.

• Louie Timber Sale - This project includes broadcast burning in timber harvest units in the Truman Creek drainage near Blacktail Mountain, south of Kila and west of Lakeside. Prescribed fire treatments will reduce fuels, regenerate vegetation and improve wildlife habitat.

• How Now Timber Sale - This project includes broadcast burning in timber harvest units east of Swan Lake near Swan Lake. Prescribed fire treatments will reduce fuels, regenerate vegetation and improve wildlife habitat.

• Swan Valley Bottom Maintenance Burning – This project includes maintenance broadcast burning in previously treated timber harvest units in Swan Valley. Specific locations include the Lion Creek Drainage, and Meadow Creek area. Prescribed fire treatments will reduce fuels, improve large ungulate winter range, and improve forest health.

• Swan Lake Ranger Station – This project includes under burning the administrative site at the Swan Lake Ranger District office located in Bigfork. Prescribed fire treatments will reduce fuels and improve wildlife habitat.

Hungry Horse District

• Coram Pasture - This project includes burning a 20-acre Forest Service administrative site near Martin City. The site is used for pasturing agency livestock. The project objectives are to reduce encroaching brush and saplings and improve range conditions.

Spotted Bear Ranger District

• Spotted Bear Ranger Station - This project includes burning 41 acres using hand ignition techniques around Spotted Bear Ranger Station to reduce fuels, improve winter range forage, reduce conifer encroachment, reintroduce fire into the ecosystem, and retain key thermal cover timber patches. Specific burn units include Silver Mule Units 45, 53, and 53a.

People who want more information about these projects should contact the appropriate ranger station:

• Hungry Horse/Glacier View Ranger District: 406-387-3800

• Tally Lake Ranger District: 406-758-5204

• Swan Lake Ranger District: 406-837-7500

• Spotted Bear Ranger District: 406-758-5376