Please no campfires outside of developed sites as stage 1 fire restrictions go into effect
<p>A wildfire blazes on the east slopes of Mount Brown above Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park on Sept. 2, 2012.</p>
By MATT BALDWIN and SCOTT SHINDLEDECKER
Stage I fire restrictions will begin Saturday across Flathead County, the Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's Kalispell, Stillwater and Swan units.
The rules prohibit campfires except for designated sites with approved fire rings.
"The rain we've had in the region previously has given us a 'green island' where conditions for wildfires have been minimal, but things are changing so rapidly, we decided to go ahead and begin restrictions," said Lincoln Chute, fire area manager for Flathead County. "With the forecast we're seeing for continued hot temperatures, breezy or windy conditions, we want to minimize the human-caused fires as much as possible."
Conditions are even more dangerous outside the Flathead Valley.
Stage II restrictions will go into effect Friday in Lincoln, Sanders and Lake counties, meaning all campfires are strictly prohibited. Smoking is not allowed under Stage II rules except within enclosed vehicles or buildings, developed recreation sites, or while stopped in an area at least 3 feet in diameter that is cleared of debris. Operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails also is prohibited.
Chute added that even a gentle breeze accelerates vegetation drying out.
"The dead and dying fuels are ready to go, and there's a lot of fuel out there," he said.
Chute said state and U.S. Forest Service fixed-wing planes have been flying patrols to find fire starts for a few weeks and it has been effective in quickly putting out several small fires in the region.
"But with the smoke we're getting from fires west of here, that's making it harder to detect small fires, so we really want to do what we can to keep fires from beginning that aren't lightning caused," he said.
Smoke has also fouled the skies from area wildfires.
There are no large fires locally. A small fire on Desert Mountain started by lightning last week has now been put out. The fire was burning in steep terrain, but Chute noted it didn’t crown — it was mostly in the downed timber. It was also close to the end of a road, so crews could run hose lines from a tender down to the fire, he said.
There is a report of small fire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness at Scarlet Mountain in the south end of the Bob east of Basin Creek. It was a quarter acre in size.