Tell him what you think

The cool weather was enjoyed by everyone on the North Fork. Even better was the rain. Only bad thing was the lightning followed quickly by loud thunder. As we all know that means the lighting was close.

So far we have not detected any new fire threats and are hopeful that the sometimes heavy rain extinguished any fires that were started. Even so, we will all keep our eyes open for several days in case of any “hang fires” popping up.

To me, September has always meant that school starts and summer is over. School has started, but summer weather is continuing. Temperatures in the 90s are predicted for the week ahead. That means fire season is still in full swing. Humans need to be very careful with fires and anything that might throw a spark. As important is to be watchful for fire starts and know to report a fire.

Quick response to a fire is the key to preventing large stand replacement blazes. The Forest Service uses spotter planes, roving fire trucks and lookouts to detect and respond to fires while they are small, but we can all help by keeping our eyes open.

Regular readers of this column are familiar with the sentence I often use to end the column. What do you think? I use that mostly to get people to actually think about things I have written, not necessarily to tell me about their thoughts. That being said I do appreciate hearing from readers and am continually surprised by how many I get. If you want to contact me you can write to me at Box 3 Columbia Falls, MT 59912 or to the Hungry Horse News and they will see that I get it.

I appreciate it when letters are signed and have a return address and I will try to respond. I read anonymous letters and use them for firestarter. I have become so disgusted with social media that I no longer use a computer to communicate with people. When I am in town you can call me at 406-892-5951, we can talk or you can leave a message.

Best of all is to approach in person. I am often at the Home Ranch Store or the Polebridge Merc at most community events or you can visit me at 197 Kintla Ranch Road. I always have free coffee whether you agree with me or not and I will always be respectful even when I disagree with you. I have only banned one person from coming on my property in 75 years. Everyone is welcome and my dog is as friendly as I try to be.