Fireworks restricted in county

A child playing with fireworks started a grass fire near Ronan Tuesday that spread to an adjacent building.

Starting Friday, using fireworks in Lake County will be illegal — for up to 90 days — as the Lake County commissioners and tribal council of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have banned the use of fireworks. 

Stage 1 fire restrictions will go into effect in Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, and Sanders Counties at 12 a.m. on Friday, July 3. This includes all private, state, and federally (Forest Service, Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service) managed lands in these counties. Fire Restrictions also go into effect on the Bob Marshall Wilderness lands within the Flathead National Forest. Completely contained wood stoves with a fire screen or spark arrester are allowed only in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, instead of campfires.

Lake County banned all fireworks on private and public land in Lake County. The ban does not include the incorporated cities in the county; however, Ronan, Polson, and St. Ignatius are in the process of developing their own fireworks restrictions, county spokesperson Carey Cooley said. In addition to the fireworks ban, stage 1 fire restrictions will go into effect Friday, July 3 at 12:01 a.m. 

Stage 1 fire restrictions prohibit building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire except within a developed recreation site or improved site. Smoking is prohibited, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, or a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.

Liquid petroleum and propane stoves that can be turned on and off are allowed. Smoking is prohibited outside of vehicles, buildings, and developed recreation sites, unless you are in a 3-foot-diameter area cleared of all burnable vegetation.

The tribes already have restrictions on the use of fireworks in tribal wilderness and campgrounds. On Tuesday, the tribal council extended the fireworks ban to all tribal lands including tribal leased land and homes under the Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority. The restrictions went into effect at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Council members said this has been the driest year anyone could recall and the tightest restrictions were the best course of action to ensure the safety of people and the protection of tribal natural resources, spokesman Rob McDonald said.

City of Polson officials were also pursuing a

ban on the discharge of fireworks on city lands, McDonald said.

Officials are encouraging people to attend a municipal fireworks show like the one in Polson, McDonald said.

The Flathead County commissioners will decide Thursday whether to ban the use of fireworks in the county. Lincoln County banned fireworks on Tuesday.