Fire danger ramped up to very high
Smoke from a 12-acre burn out operation performed on the Highway 37 fire rises Tuesday morning. (John Blodgett/The Western News)
The fire danger was ramped up last week to very high, though some places received beneficial rain from a myriad of thunderstorms that passed through.
Still, with temperatures in the mid-90s everyday, things will dry out quickly and the storms were spotty, at best.
For example, the Flathead Valley saw almost no rain, save for a few sprinkles. But West Glacier saw .39 inches of rain and on Glacier’s east side, St. Mary saw more than an inch of rain.
The park had no fire starts that it’s been able to detect from the thunderstorms, spokeswoman Lauren Alley said.
The active fires are west of town. The Kootenai National Forest and Libby areas have entered stage 1 fire restrictions. Under stage 1 restrictions, it’s illegal to build, maintain, attend, or use a fire or campfire except with a developed recreation site or improved site. In addition, smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, 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 is prohibited.
Northwest Montana saw 16 fires in the past week and all were human-caused, including illegal debris burning, dragging chains, campfires, and cigarettes.
The Kootenai has some active blazes.
The Davis Fire was estimated at 50 acres Monday. It was burning along Davis Creek in a remote section of the Kootenai National Forest northwest of Yaak. The Highway 37 Fire was estimated at 70 acres on Monday. Firefighters had the human-caused blaze 40 percent contained.
There were also several other fires spotted as well in the Three Rivers Ranger District of the Kootenai Forest. The largest was the Feeder Fire, estimated Sunday at 11 acres. Hotshots, a helicopter and air tankers were sent to battle the remote mountain blaze. The other six fires were all less than 2 acres in size.
This week, temperatures are expected to remain warm and dry, though the highs should cool off a bit into the 80s, with 70s in the higher terrain by the weekend.