Montana Land Reliance Spotted Knapweed Biocontrol Workshop – August 21

Following is a message from Tris Hoffman, Weed Coordinator for the Forest Service… Hello everyone! Attached is a flyer for a biological control (bug) workshop in Kalispell on August 21st from 1PM-6PM at the Flathead Valley Community College Arts and Technology Building. The field portion of the workshop is currently planned at a gravel pit west of Tally Lake where we have introduced 2 kinds of knapweed-eating insects. I know all this is a long distance from ya’ll, but if you happened to already be in town or couldn’t get enough pounding on the wash-boarded road, register and join in!

This workshop is free of charge, but you need to register in advance. Contact Mark at 406-837-2178 or mark@mtlandreliance.org.

Pie & Ice Cream Social and Square Dance a Big Success

Saturday night at the Hall was a fun time for North Forkers.   The Hall was filled with the voices of people visiting and enjoying each other’s company.  Not only was the counter filled with wonderful pies and homemade ice cream, but most people stayed afterwards to square dance or watch from the sidelines.  Many families came with their children.  Young people always make the event even more special……. especially the look of glee on their faces as they participate in the square dancing!  We had three squares throughout the night with people filtering in and out of the squares in order to take breaks and give others a chance to dance.  Thanks to Linda Pitman for hosting this wonderful event!

Don’t forget that there is another square dance in August. So get out your crazy hats and come join everyone on Saturday August 15th starting at 8PM. For more information, see the calendar.

Silent Auction Raised Funds for the NFLA

The silent action held last evening at Sondreson Hall just before the NFLA Business Meeting was well attended. Eighteen items were donated including baked goods, hand crafted jewelry, Aladdin’s Lamp, and an original oil painting by Ruth Sondreson donated by Cecily McNeil. Gift certificates from Home Ranch Bottoms, the Northern Lights, and the Polebridge Mercantile were also on offer and very much appreciated. At one point Larry Wilson had his bid in for at least five different baked goods but ended up taking home Ray Hart’s prized Flathead Sour Cherry pie. Everyone enjoyed the hour of socializing and competing for their favorite items. And altogether over $800 was raised for the NFLA Improvement fund. We want to thank everyone who participated.

Don’t forget that the 2015 Firewise Day and Summer Interlocal Meeting are taking place on Wednesday, July 15th, at Sondreson Hall starting at 9:30AM. Check out all of the NFLA events on the NFLA calendar.

Advice for the 2015 Fire Season

The fire season is upon us here in the Northfork

Should we have a fire which is actually on the ground; there are a few things to think about to protect your property, yourself, family, friends and neighbors.

1. Know your escape route. Plan your route and know that you can make it out ahead of danger.

2. In the event you or family members have health problems get out early. Do not wait until the last minute to leave. The smoke can be more deadly to someone with breathing or other health issues than the actual fire.

3. Have your most valuable personal items packed and do not plan on having some of your friends come from the valley if the fire is threatening your home.

4. Have your roof clear of debris, i.e. branches, needles, leaves and any other items that you have neglected to remove.

5. If you store firewood around your building, move it away from the building into an open area. You can always move it back in the fall. Firewood gathers fire embers and will burn as easily in a pile on your deck or under you porch as it would in the stove and it will burn your home down.

6. Have your water on and keep your yard as green as possible. If your lawn has already turned brown you can mow it off close to the ground. Fire needs fuel to burn. You can put rain bird sprinklers on your deck, porch and or roof.

7. Let’s say that the road to your home is 10 feet wide, you need to clear the brush and trees back ten feet on either side. If a pickup or other larger vehicle cannot get to your home without rubbing branches or brush, you cannot expect fire personnel to go into your home to protect it.

8. You need to have your fire resistant clothing ready and in a place that you can get into it easily. Your clothing needs to consist of the following:

A. 100% cotton clothing, unless you have fire resistant clothing, i.e. Jeans, black or blue.

B. You need to have lace up boots. Fighting fire in clogs, flip-flops’, tennis shoes, boat-shoes etc. is a dangerous thing to do.

C. If you are wearing clothing that is Spandex or other lightweight flammable materials, you are making yourself into a medical problem. The new lightweight materials are usually very flammable and you can be shrink-wrapped in an instant if you are close to the fire.

D. Have a good pair of leather gloves. The gloves should be the kind that you wear and are somewhat broken in. Do not use gloves that have no fingers or are full of holes in them.

E. Have all of your shovels, saws and fuels away from your home or garage or other out building. Note, shovel, rake and other tools handles burn. The middle of your lawn is good, or if you have a large open space. Mow the area and rake all of the grasses and other debris away from your fuel area. Then cover with a good heavy canvas tarp, NOT a plastic blue, green, silver or any other color you might have as they are usually made from a petroleum produce and burn readily.

F. MAKE SURE THAT YOU TURN OFF YOU PROPANE TANKS AT THE TANK.

In the event of a major fire, the incident management team may have a team of structure protection people come around and triage your home and or property. If you have not made your home fire-wise, or you have a drive that is not safe to put fire personnel in on, you should be aware that your home will NOT be protected.

Plan ahead, live longer and be safe.
Lynn P Ogle, Fire Chief
Trail Creek Fire Service Company
(Aka; The Trail Creek Irregulars)

Patrol Agenda for July, 2015

Prepared by Lynn P. Ogle for Mark Heaphy.

Patrol is asking people to get license numbers and descriptions of strange vehicles and people, in or around your homes.

It is very difficult to know if you have given people permission or if they are renters or trespassers if you do not give them a written permission slip.

If you are in the renting business you need to realize the following:

  1. You as the owner of the property or equipment need to give your renter a written permission slip, or you might get an unexpected call from a Sheriff’s Officer.
  2. You need to know that the Renters may place you in a liable seat if you have a fire get away and or damage your neighbor’s property. That includes State and Federal properties. If the renter has renters insurance, they may minimize your risk, but don’t think it does until you have checked it out.
  3. You as the Land owner are responsible to provide the necessary escape routes in case of a disaster.
  4. Your duties include informing your renters that they must clean up their mess and pack it out; you know the rule; pack it in and pack it out!
  5. You should make them aware of all of the animals that might become violent in the event of their pets and garbage. Make sure that they know that they must remove all of the garbage they bring with them.

You as the owner of the property should check with your own insurance company before you rent to anyone!

We as the North Fork Patrol are not responsible for damages. You as the landowner are responsible and if you choose to rent then any damages to your property needs to be reported to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office @ 406-758-5610 or 900 South Main Street in Kalispell, Mt 59801. For more information about the North Fork Patrol, see their web page.

Firewise Day 2015 Agenda

Firewise signThe North Fork’s annual Firewise Day will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 from 9:30 – noon in Sondreson Community Hall. The Firewise workshop will precede the Summer Interlocal meeting. The program is timely and tailored to what is expected to be a very active fire season in Western Montana, given the record-setting warm and dry conditions this summer. If you have any questions, please contact Molly Shepherd or  Allen Chrisman. We hope to see you at the workshop.

Download the Final 2015 Firewise Day Agenda from this link.

July 1 Wildland Fire National Outlook

OK – here is the grim news with no relief in sight.  It doesn’t get much starker than this:

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

Dead fuel moisture levels in North Idaho and Western Montana are below normal for this time of year in several PSAs, and will continue to be very dry through the summer. Fine fuel and live fuel moisture values in these areas are curing out rapidly with hot dry weather and will be at peak summer dryness levels in early July.

North Idaho and Western Montana are four to five weeks earlier than normal fire season development, and ERCs and 1000hr fuel moistures will be extreme by mid-July and continue through September while returning to normal is anticipated by October.

They are actually understating the fuel models – our ERC’s are higher now than they ever get in the “Normal” Fire Season, and they are two to three weeks ahead of the previous Max ERC’s:

So you know why it feels like August out there – because it is.  We are going to have at least two months of August, then probably a warm September and a mild winter.  While we will still not be as bad off as Oregon and Washington, it will be small consolation because given this forecast we will see a very active and long duration fire season.

We’ll just hope that they are wrong and our fall rains will start on the 4th of July…. That’s my wish!

Keep your fire tools sharp and handy, and watch for smoke.

Thanks.  Allen