Page 8 - Flathead Beacon // 6.29.16

COUNTY BEAT 14 COURT BEAT 15
Newsworthy
Charred trees remain after the Bear Creek re burned through the Bob Marshall Wilderness along the South Fork Flathead River last summer.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
Year After Historic Summer, Managers Expect Average Wild re Season Recent rain helps keep re conditions low but warm weather could quickly dry fuels
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
A rainy summer weekend is rarely something to celebrate but it was a wel- come sight for Flathead County Fire Ser- vice Manager Lincoln Chute.
A year after a historically dry spring and wild re- lled summer, re manag- ers are preparing for what they believe will be an average season in Northwest Montana.
“Compared to last year things look fabulous,” Chute said, referencing the recent rainfall across the region.
Last year, 15,000-square-miles burned nationwide, including more than 225,000 acres in Northwest Montana, making it the region’s worst re season in a decade. A year ago this week, the rst major blaze of the year, the Glacier Rim Fire, was already raging along the North
Fork of the Flathead River.
Kalispell has received 1.34 inches of
rain this month, considerably more pre- cipitation than last year but still below the annual June average by .93 inches.
Manny Mendoza, Flathead National Forest assistant re manager, said an in ux of rain doesn’t mean the region is out of the woods yet.
“All this rain can give a false sense of security. We can de nitely still have a re season. It may not be as smoky as last year but it can still happen,” he said. “A lot can happen between now and the end of July. We’re really happy to see all this rain, but we’re not out of a re season yet.”
Fire managers on the Kootenai National Forest said they are seeing sim- ilar conditions in Lincoln County, but they are still worried about the potential for big res.
Dan Rose, re management o cer for the Kootenai National Forest, said last year was the rst time in more than a decade that they had large wild res on the landscape and that there is a lot of fuel left to burn in the forest.
“If we get moisture in July, that will really mellow things out but if not we could have a big season,” he said. “We’re mostly just waiting to see how things play out.”
Chute said he is especially concerned about the heat wave that is expected to hit the region this week. He said warm temperatures could quickly dry out fuels and at that point it would only take a spark to start a re. Chute urged peo- ple to be cautious going into the holiday weekend, especially if they’re going to use reworks. If you plan on lighting re- works on your own property, Chute said
you should wet the grass a day or two in advance so that it doesn’t catch on re. He also encouraged people to clean out their gutters because dry needles can quickly ignite.
“Go out and have a safe and fun Fourth of July,” Chute said. “But just be cautious and use common sense.”
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
8
JUNE 29, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
FIREWORKS REGULATIONS
Fireworks are prohibited in the city limits of Kalispell and Columbia Falls, as well as on all national forest and state forest lands, wildlife management areas and shing access sites. In White sh’s city limits, reworks can be used July 3-4, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.