Almost out of the woods for Fire Season 2020

Cross-posted from Facebook . . .
Well, we are almost out of the woods for Fire Season 2020 in the Northern Rockies. We have areas of dry fuel with potential in Eastern Montana, although the forecast is for normal fire potential across the Geographic Area.
Our rainfall in Northwest Montana on September 24 and 25 provided significant relief, but the warmer daytime temperatures leave us with some potential. More moisture will help a lot. Note there are other parts of the country that will continue to have active fire seasons.
This will be the last Outlook I post until Spring 2021. Feel free to access the monthly updates on your own, posted the first of each month.
Wait for a bit more before burning your piles, unless you enjoy chasing skunking fires. And when you do burn, be sure and know what the wind is going to do. Thanks, and be safe out there!

Annual NFLA food drive collection for local food banks, Oct 11

Sondreson Hall by Gerry StearnsREMINDER: This Sunday, October 11, 8:00pm, is the year’s last NFLA general membership meeting. We will, as usual, be collecting non-perishable food items for distribution to the local food banks. This year, donations will go to the Northwest Montana Veterans Stand Down and Food Pantry. If you can’t make the meeting, you can give items to someone who plans to attend.

(Note: There is no 7pm pre-meeting presentation this month. Everything starts at 8pm at Sondreson Hall.)

North Fork Zoning Hearing Notice – Tues, Oct 6, 6:00pm, Country Kitchen Building at the Fairgrounds

A public hearing before the County Board of Adjustment is scheduled regarding an Appeal filed by the North Fork Land Use Advisory Committee to a written Zoning Determination from the County Planning & Zoning Office (“CP&Z”) regarding rental cabins, guest cabins and a yoga studio on property located at 1070 Numa Peak Lane.  This Zoning Determination was made by the CP&Z in a letter to the owner of Montana Yoga Adventure subsequent to the August 4 Board of Adjustment hearing.  The Appeal, filed by the North Fork Land Use Advisory Committee, disputes the CP&Z’s interpretation of two items contained in the North Fork Zoning Regulations.  These items relate to “rental” cabin density (not guest cabins) which our zoning allows at one rental cabin “per each five acres of contiguous property owned”.  The County Planning & Zoning has interpreted our zoning differently, by allowing one rental cabin per every parcel of land owned.  In effect, according to them, our zoning provides that two separate parcels of record of contiguous property, each less than five acres, would be allowed a rental cabin on each parcel.   In addition, the County is considering a canvas wall tent as a structure and building (although a tent does not conform to the Flathead County Zoning’s definition of either a structure or building) and as such, could be considered a rental cabin.   We encourage all North Fork landowners to attend this public hearing on October 6 to voice their concern that our North Fork Zoning Regulations are being misinterpreted and not as intended.  Save the date!

Wildland Fire Potential Outlook – issued September 1, 2020

Well, there is Good News and Not as Good News in this Month’s Wildland Fire Potential Outlook!

The Good News is that Montana is now not forecasted for an “Above Normal” September as it has been in the past two Outlooks.

The “Not as Good” News is that things are critically dry across the State. Energy Release Components, an indication of the volatility of the fuels, are in the 95th to 97th percentile, which is pretty much pegging the meter.

For the most part, we have avoided the large fires associated with these seasonally dry fuel conditions. I think the lack of numerous starts from dry lightning storms factors into the equation. And, as we move into September, the potential for dry thunderstorms drops off.

However, there are numerous other ways fires can start – most of them human. Three fires started earlier this week along Highway 200 outside of Plains/Paradise where a flat tire on a trailer sparked fires with the wheel contacting the pavement throwing sparks. Unattended campfires are always a concern – even transitioning out of the summer camping season into the fall hunting season with hunter fires.

So, continue to be careful out there. If we get some of the forecasted moisture alluded to in the narrative, we’ll get out of this fire season relatively intact. More time to work on fuels projects for next fire season! Only You….

https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/predictive/outlooks/monthly_seasonal_outlook.pdf

Flathead National Forest 2020 prescribed fire projects

FNF 2020 Prescribed BurnsFlathead National Forest announced their prescribed burn schedule today. Here are the items in the North Fork…
 
Red Whale RX— A 750-acre project is planned in the Red Whale Creek Drainage in the North Fork region about 4 miles northwest of Polebridge. Depending on weather, this burn is planned for mid to late September to early October. The purpose of this project is to help restore a more historical fire regime to the ecosystem, improve wildlife habitat, and reduce hazardous fuels to reduce wildfire risk and aid in potential future wildfire efforts.
North Fork Road – Five acres of hand piles near the Big Creek work center.

Fire danger moves to VERY HIGH in Flathead County

Kalispell, MT August 18, 2020 – Today, Flathead area fire managers moved the fire danger rating to very high.

The danger rating is elevated for the Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, the DNRC Swan Unit, Stillwater Unit, and Kalispell Unit, and other local state lands. As a whole, Flathead County is also at a very high fire danger.

Fire managers move the fire danger rating to very high when fires start easily from all causes, immediately after ignition, spread rapidly and increase quickly in intensity. All fires are potentially serious. Direct attack may be dangerous except immediately after ignition. Fires require many resources of multiple types and potentially an incident management team.

Very high fire danger means that people should think twice before starting a campfire or working with heavy equipment during the heat of the day. The public should double check that chains aren’t dragging behind vehicles and pay attention to wind and other local factors that could cause a campfire to escape.

“We’ve responded to multiple escaped campfires in the past two weeks,” said Flathead National Forest Hungry Horse District Fire Management Officer Andy Huntsberger. “Stick close to your barbeques, make sure your campfire is dead out when you leave, and make sure to extinguish cigarettes completely. Give us a hand in the coming weeks as we reach peak fire season.”

For information on how to prepare for wildfire season, contact the Community Preparedness Specialist for the Kalispell Unit of the DNRC at 406-751-2270.