As a heat wave continues to hover over northwest Montana and wildland fire activity intensifies around the state, local agencies have begun enacting fire restrictions with a goal of reducing fire risk and preventing wildfires, a majority of which are human-caused.
Officials with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Lake County announced that beginning July 20, all lands on the Flathead Indian Reservation and Lake County are under Stage 2 fire restrictions. Land within a city limits is exempted from the following restrictions unless the local municipalities enact their own.
Stage 2 fire restrictions prohibit building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire, with no exceptions. Cooking on a liquid petroleum gas or propane stove that can be turned on and off and is located in a barren area is allowed.
The restrictions also prohibit 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.
In addition, operating any motorized vehicle off of a designated trail or road is prohibited.
The following acts are prohibited between 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. and require a one-hour foot patrol in the work area following cessation of activity:
- Operating any internal combustion engine.
- Welding, or operating acetylene or other torch with open flame.
- Using explosives.