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.