Fire crews douse multiple blazes in north Lincoln Co.

Yahoo

18-04-2025

Apr. 18—Warm and breezy conditions recently led to multiple debris and grass fires on private land in north Lincoln County getting out of control.
According to Kootenai National Forest Public Affairs Officer Larona Rebo, there were four fires on the Rexford/Fortine Ranger District last week, including three on April 6 and one on April 11. They ranged in size from half an acre to seven acres.
"All occurred on private land, largely grass fires," Rebo said in an email. "All fires were handled, controlled, returned to the landowner and reported as out the same day they were reported."
The April 6 fires were named Berger, Burke and Alder while the April 11 fire was Fortine Creek. Also, the April 15 Salish Spring Fire reached 10 acres.
District Ranger Seth Carbonari said wind led to the fires getting away from the homeowners. But volunteer fire departments from Eureka and Trego-Fortine-Stryker joined U.S. Forest Service crews to put out the fires. The Eureka VFD worked the Berger, Burke and Alder fires as well as Fortine Creek. The Trego Fortine Stryker VFD worked the Salish Spring blaze with federal crews.
"We're happy to have the partnerships we do with our local volunteer departments," Carbonari said. "Sunday, April 6, we had three fires, so it's easy to get spread pretty thin and the more crews involved, the better."
Carbonari asked residents burning brush or grass to be thoughtful about the weather and be prepared to have a way to control the fire, whether it's water or tools.
Fortunately, a weather pattern brought rain and snow to Northwest Montana Wednesday. But sunny and warm weather was supposed to return to the region on Thursday through Saturday. A chance of rain is called for on Easter Sunday and Monday.
Fire Adapted Kootenai also provided considerable information to help those planning controlled burns. For more information, go to https://www.fireadaptedkootenai.org/. — Do not burn during dry, windy weather when vegetation in the vicinity is dry and fire-prone. Gusty winds and changes in wind direction often accompany the passage of weather fronts. Thunderstorms may also generate strong gusts and downdrafts. Light your burn only when you have a favorable weather forecast and safe burning conditions. Check your local weather forecast at noaa.gov. — Ignition of burns may only occur during daylight hours. — Fires should be attended until completely out. Be prepared to put your fire out if it becomes difficult to manage. — Fires are not out until cold to the touch with no flame or smoke. — Enough tools, water, equipment, and people should be available to extinguish your fire if unexpected changes in fire behavior occur. — Call 911 immediately if your fire does burn out of control. — Debris burning generates smoke which may create or contribute to poor air quality. For some individuals, smoke is merely a nuisance, but for others, smoke is a dangerous pollutant triggering serious respiratory problems. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regulates smoke emissions from open burning to prevent and/or reduce air quality impacts. — Fires must be completely extinguished if any emission from the fire is detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of any person; if it causes damage to property or business; or if it causes a nuisance to others. — Air Quality compliance is required for every burn. For burn locations located within the Libby Outdoor Burning Control Area, call 406-293-5644 for ventilation and burning forecast prior to burning. For burn locations located outside of the Libby Outdoor Burning Control Area, call 1-800-225-6779 for ventilation and burning forecast prior to burning. — Build piles with dry materials that are free of dirt, so they burn clean and fast. Do not burn wet grass, needles, leaves, or material that will smolder or produce excess smoke. Piles may be covered with plastic or waterproof paper to keep them dry. This will allow them to be burned when nearby fuels are too wet to burn and control is no longer a concern. Remember to remove the plastic before igniting the piles. — Build burn piles of manageable size and in openings clear of surrounding or overhanging vegetation, structures, and utility lines. Burn piles should not be closer than 50 feet to any structure or 10 feet from any property line. — Establish wide firebreaks around piles to be burned. Firebreaks should be free of vegetation and wide enough to contain burning embers that may fall or roll from the pile. The larger the pile to be burned, the wider the firebreak should be. — When possible, continue to re-pile debris as material is consumed. This will allow the fire to stay hot and burn out as quickly as possible. — Landing piles must be broken apart and completely extinguished before the end of the permit period. — Do not attempt to bury any burning material as fire can burn underground, sometimes for several months. — Burn barrels should not be used to burn garbage. If burn barrels are used, only burn natural vegetation and woody materials.
If you intend to burn, have in place: — A current weather forecast for your burn location — Water source such as a charged hose, buckets, pond, lake, etc. — Fire tools (long-handled shovel, rake, hoe, etc.) or equipment depending on the size of your burn — Enough help to extinguish your fire if unexpected changes in fire behavior occur. — A burn permit if burning during a timeframe or at a location where one is required. Follow the information provided under the "Seasonal Schedule". — Air Quality compliance
Alternatives to Burning — Make a compost pile out of small organic materials — Till vegetative waste materials into the soil — Use thinning and logging debris for firewood — Haul debris to your local landfill free of charge — Chip thinning and logging debris — Lop and scatter thinning and logging debris — Machine crush or trample thinning and logging debris