North Fork still crispy

Yes, it is still very dry on the North Fork. Cooler weather and a few showers have helped, but every bolt of lightning makes us wince and distant thunder gets us up to watch for lightning.

There have been several small fires all of them quickly suppressed by aggressive initial attack teams from Glacier View Fire Teams. We all worry that large fires like the one in Glacier Park may dilute firefighting resources in the Flathead at the need for firefighters increases.

Personally, I object to the news media referring to Type I teams as elite teams. Certainly they are special but no more elite than Type II or even most Type III teams. All are elite and made up of well-trained men and women. The difference is their size. Type I teams (only 18 in the U.S.) are designed to handle the biggest fires, Type II smaller fires and Type III teams even smaller fires while individual forest districts handle initial attack and may have Type II capability.

As the forest moves from small to large, complex fire situations, all are fought with elite, well-trained firefighters aided by more complex equipment, and more and more people. As more and more teams and equipment are needed, a fire will move from a Type III incident to a Type I incident. Not better people, just more people and equipment.

In the meantime we all need to be really careful with fire. Even though about 60 percent of the North Fork has been toasted by Red Bench, Moose, Robert and Wedge fires. The dead fuels left by those fires, especially on the flanks of those fires, can and will carry a new fire. The 100-acre Glacier Rim fire earlier this year was almost entirely within the perimeter of the Robert Fire of 2003.

In the meantime we can spend more time on the river fishing and/or floating. Even here the day weather and low snowpack has had some adverse effects. From the Boeder to Ford station, the river is so low you can expect to drag your boat over exposed gravel bars. Also, exposed rocks in some rapids can be a real hazard. A fancy canoe was wrapped around a rock in Wurtz Rapids last week and I imagine it is still there and probably will be until next spring. A total loss, but no one hurt that I know about.

With the road freshly graded and dust abatement applied from Great Northern Flats to the top of Vance Hill we can expect speed to increase despite the 35 mph speed limit. This usually results in more accidents, some caused by speed alone and some caused by a combination of speed and deer on the road. Add a little alcohol for more accidents. I saw a SUV off the road above the devil's elbow. No one hurt but the vehicle needed a wrecker to get it back on the road and thousands of dollars to repair.

Have fun, but be careful out there. The life you save might be mine.