Hay Creek Fire won’t see salvage sale, but could see mushrooms
A firefighter soaks down the vegetation on the south side of the Hay Creek Road early on in the battle.
By CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News
The Hay Creek Fire area won’t see a salvage sale.
The fire burned about 2,000 acres up the North Fork off the Hay Creek Road last summer.
The trees along the road are primarily small diameter and the remaining timber is in inventoried roadless areas and is inaccessible, noted Flathead National Forest spokeswoman Tamara Mackenzie.
The area is open to firewood cutting.
The area may see some morel mushrooms this spring, however.
The Forest Service will not be issuing commercial mushroom permits for the fire, but folks can get free personal permits.
Personal permits are required if someone collects more than 5 gallons of mushrooms a season. The mushrooms must be cut in half and cannot be resold.
People picking less than 5 gallons do not need a permit.
The complete mushroom regulations can be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd497383.pdf