Flathead Area Interagency Fire Information

Wednesday, August 16, 2017 – 11:00 am Contact: Office of Emergency Services Information Line 406-758-2111 https://www.facebook.com/FlatheadOES

Current Fire Danger: EXTREME

Stage II Fire Restrictions remain in effect across most of Northwest .

Despite recent cooler temperatures and clear skies, Fire Danger in western Montana remains Extreme and will likely remain so for a while yet. Temperatures are forecasted to be in the 80’s with sunny skies and no rain in sight. Northwest Montana continues to experience critical fire conditions including extremely dry forest fuels and minimal precipitation, and this trend is expected to continue through August. Fuel moisture indices are measuring at historically low levels.

Find out more about the daily fire weather forecast at www.wrh.noaa.gov/firewx/ . The intent of Fire Restrictions is to reduce the number of human-caused fires during periods of extreme fire danger by decreasing potential sources of ignition. Each year, 70 to 80% of wildfires are human-caused and this summer the trend has continued. Campfires are NOT ALLOWED anywhere during Stage II Fire Restrictions. (See additional information about Stage II Fire Restrictions below.)

Cooperating Federal, State, and Private jurisdictions implementing restrictions include: Glacier National Park; Flathead National Forest (the Bob Marshall, Great Bear & Scapegoat Wilderness areas are in Stage 1 Restrictions); Kootenai National Forest; Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation State Land and Private Classified Forest Land; Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; Lake, Sanders, Flathead, and Lincoln Counties; the City of Columbia Falls and City of Whitefish.

Flathead National Forest: Fire Name Date Started Size in Acres Cause Status

Scalp – Located in the Bob August 15 .5 Lightning Monitor

Marshall Ilderness strategy Dolly Varden – Located in August 15 .5 Lightning Monitor the Great Bear Wilderness strategy Reef – Located in the Bob August 14 .75 Lightning Monitor Marshall Wilderness near strategy Reef Creek Cyclone Lake, August 12 36 Lightning Resources on Glacier View RD scene

U.S. Department of U.S. Department of Montana Flathead County State of Interior Agriculture Montana Montana

National Park Service Forest County Fire Wardens Office of Emergency Department of Natural Service Association Services Resources and Conservation

Flathead Area Interagency Fire Information The Cyclone Lake fire is estimated at 36-acres and is burning in the Coal Creek State Forest in the North Fork area. This fire is being managed with full suppression tactics and firefighter / public safety as the number one priority. It is burning in heavy timber, and in pockets of previously burned areas in 2000 and 2001, with dead and down forest fuels. There are no evacuations in place and no structures threatened. The public is asked to avoid travel on Forest Road #909 from the junction with Forest Road #319 to the Cyclone Lookout Trailhead junction, as fire traffic is concentrated in that area. Coniff, August 12 3.6 in heavy Lightning Contained, Tally Lake RD timber 8/12 Monahan July 16 1,895 Lightning Active Spotted Bear RD The incident is located between Monahan Mountain on the Lolo National Forest and Little Apex Mountain on the Flathead National Forest. The fire is being managed for resource benefit including allowing the fire to play its natural ecological role with consideration for public and firefighter safety and point protection of historic resources and trail infrastructure. There are trail closures in place.

For more detailed information visit: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5401/#

MT Department of Natural Resources and Conservation: Fire Name Date Size in Acres Cause Status Started Elk Creek, August 13 .01 Lightning Patrol status, Swan Unit 8/13 Woodward Creek, August 13 1.0 Lightning Patrol status, Swan Unit 8/14 Thompson Hill, August 13 .01 Lightning Patrol status, Kalispell Unit 8/13 Marl Creek, August 12 .75 Lightning Patrol status, Kalispell Unit 8/13 Rhodes Draw, August 12 .7 Lightning Patrol, Kalispell Unit 8/12 Twin Creek, August 12 .1 Lightning Dead out, Kalispell Unit 8/13 McGregor Creek, August 12 .1 in grass/timber Lightning Contained, Kalispell Unit 8/12 SE Lost Prairie, August 12 .01 Lightning Patrol status, Kalispell Unit 8/12 Wild Bill, August 12 .01 Lightning Patrol status, Kalispell Unit 8/12 Tamarack Fire, August 12 300ac Lightning Type II Team. Libby Unit On Inciweb.

U.S. Department of U.S. Department of Montana Flathead County State of Interior Agriculture Montana Montana

National Park Service Forest County Fire Wardens Office of Emergency Department of Natural Service Association Services Resources and Conservation

Flathead Area Interagency Fire Information Peoples Creek, August 12 100+ ac Lightning Resources on scene Libby Unit Twin Lake Fire, August 12 6.8 Lightning Plains Unit Lake Blaine Rd, August 11 .01 Illegal bonfire Dead Out Kalispell Unit Dancing Bear Ln, August 11 .01 Illegal Dead Out Kalispell Unit campfire Goat Creek Camp, August 10 .1 Lightning Patrol status, Swan Unit 8/10 East Lake Blaine, August 10 .1 grass/brush Unknown Patrol status, Kalispell Unit 8/10 Houston, August 10 .1 in grass Lightning On patrol Kalispell Unit 8/10

Glacier National Park: Fire Name Date Started Size in Acres Cause Status Adair Peak, August12 .6 Lightning Resources are South of Logging Lake monitoring Elk Mountain August 12 .1 Unknown Dead out, 8/13 Piegan August 11 .1 Lightning Inaccessible. Being monitored. Howe Lake August 11 .1 Lightning Dead out, 8/13 Sprague August 10 101 Lightning Confine strategy. Resources on scene. Rogers August 10 1.4 Lightning Controlled, Heavy Timber 8/15 Vaught August 10 .1 Lightning No recent smoke reports. Resources are monitoring. Snyder August 8 .5 Lightning Controlled, heavy timber 8/9 Bowman Creek July 29 1.0 Lightning Controlled, 8/1

U.S. Department of U.S. Department of Montana Flathead County State of Interior Agriculture Montana Montana

National Park Service Forest County Fire Wardens Office of Emergency Department of Natural Service Association Services Resources and Conservation

Flathead Area Interagency Fire Information Glacier National Park Fire Update August 16, 2007

Trail closures have been lifted for some areas: the Trout Lake, Camas and Howe Lake Trails have reopened. Closures remain in place for The Gunsight Pass Trail from Lake McDonald to Gunsight Pass (including all secondary trails such as the Snyder Lake Trail and Mt. Brown Lookout), and the Lincoln Lake Trail. Some backcountry campgrounds are closed due to fire activity. All front country campgrounds remain open. Check https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/hikingthetrails.htm for updated status.

The Sprague Fire perimeter is estimated at 100 acres. This 100 acre estimated area includes burned and unburned vegetation. The fire has burned actively over the past several days within the perimeter, despite the cool weather system that moved through the area over the weekend. The objective is to keep the fire within natural and human made fire breaks due to the steep terrain and concerns for fire fighter safety. Aerial resources have been used to slow fire growth, and ground resources are on scene.

Sperry Chalet remains closed. The structures in the complex are not immediately threatened, however the Sprague fire has necessitated the closure of the main trail that accesses the chalet. The park is prepared to implement structural protection precautions as necessary.

The Adair Peak fire is being monitored for fire behavior and threats to structures. It is burning in heavy duff in a remote area. It would require a substantial firefighter commitment to extinguish in the short-term. The park will continue to evaluate and assess this fire, but will direct firefighting resources to other fires unless fire behavior changes. Fire managers expect that the Adair Peak fire may grow somewhat. No structures are immediately threatened.

Most areas of the park are open including all areas of the North Fork, Apgar Village, the Going-to-the-Sun Road, Granite Park Chalet, Two Medicine, St. Mary, Many Glacier and Goat Haunt. Please check the park website for updated trail and road information at http://bit.ly/2uAE96d

Flathead County Fire Service Area Fire & Law Enforcement officials are asking for the cooperation of the public to put a stop to the illegal burning and illegal campfires as we endure this extreme fire season. These illegal actions are putting homes, residents, and responders at risk. They recently responded to seven illegal slash/trash burn piles in one day!

Flathead County Emergency Communications Center/911 has dispatched firefighters, resources, and law enforcement officers to 38 wildland fires and 47 illegal burn incidents since August 1. They have also responded to 21 prohibited use of fireworks cases since Stage II Restrictions were implemented.

Firefighting resources were also dispatched to 241 fire incidents during the month of July. The vast majority of these fire incidents have been human-caused (illegal burn piles, grass fires, brush fires, and out-of-control camp fires & fire pits).

U.S. Department of U.S. Department of Montana Flathead County State of Interior Agriculture Montana Montana

National Park Service Forest County Fire Wardens Office of Emergency Department of Natural Service Association Services Resources and Conservation

Flathead Area Interagency Fire Information Other active fires in the area: GIBRALTER Ridge, near Eureka: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5474/# Facebook: www.facebook.com/GibralterRidgeFire PIO Name: Hailey Graf PIO Email: [email protected] PIO Public Info Line: 406-250-8205

RICE RIDGE, near Seeley Lake: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5414/# LIBERTY, east of Arlee: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5437/# SUNRISE, near Superior: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5379/# TAMARACK FIRE: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5498/

Smoke has continued to impact the Flathead Valley this week. You can check out the air quality for the valley and around the state by visiting the Flathead City-County Health Department website: http://flatheadhealth.org/environmental-health/air-quality/ or www.airnow.gov

Prevention/Education Message: Get to Know the Home Ignition Zones

1. Zone 1 (0-30-feet): Create a 3-5-foot noncombustible perimeter, remove firewood from this zone, keep the area “lean, clean, and green,” with irrigation and short vegetation, prune branches up 6-10-feet from the ground, plant higher-moisture deciduous trees rather that conifers, and maintain 20 to 30-foot spacing between the longest branches of trees. 2. Zone 2 (30-100-feet): Prune branches, maintain wide spacing between trees, remove “ladder fuels” by pruning branches and removing some shrubs, remove standing dead trees and heavy concentrations of logs or large branches, incorporate walkways, paths, irrigated garden beds, ponds, or rockwork to create “fuel breaks” to keep the fire from spreading. 3. Zone 3 (100-200-feet): Keep thinning trees, thin smaller conifers to remove ladder fuels, remove heavy accumulations of dead and downed forest fuels.

U.S. Department of U.S. Department of Montana Flathead County State of Interior Agriculture Montana Montana

National Park Service Forest County Fire Wardens Office of Emergency Department of Natural Service Association Services Resources and Conservation

Flathead Area Interagency Fire Information

Media Inquiries - For media inquiries related to a specific fire, contact the appropriate agency below:

Flathead National Forest: Janette Turk (406-758-5252) Web: http://www.fs.usda.gov/flathead Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlatheadNF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discovertheflathead

MT Department of Natural Resources and Conservation: Ali Ulwelling (751-2270 or 250-4825) Web: http://dnrc.mt.gov Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MontanaDNRC

Glacier National Park: Lauren Alley (406-888-5838) Web: http://www.nps.gov/glac Facebook: http://facebook.com/GlacierNPS

Flathead County Office of Emergency Services: Rick Sacca (406-249-6913) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlatheadOES Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlatheadOES Web: https://flathead.mt.gov/oes/

For more information about preparing your family, home, property, and community for wildfire, go to: www.firewise.org www.wildlandfirersg.org www.fireadapted.org www.disastersafety.org/wildfire

U.S. Department of U.S. Department of Montana Flathead County State of Interior Agriculture Montana Montana

National Park Service Forest County Fire Wardens Office of Emergency Department of Natural Service Association Services Resources and Conservation

Flathead Area Interagency Fire Information Under Stage II Fire Restrictions, the following acts are prohibited until further notice: 1. Building maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire. 2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials. 3. The following acts are prohibited from 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. and a one hour foot patrol in the work area is required following cessation of the following activities: a. Operating any internal combustion engine. b. Welding, or operating acetylene or other torch with open flame. c. Using an explosive. 4. Operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails.

Exemptions:

1. Persons with a written permit specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited act. 2. Persons using a device fueled solely by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned on and off. Such devices can only be used in an area that is barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable materials within 3 feet of the device. 3. Operating generators with an approved spark arresting device within an enclosed vehicle or building or in an area that is barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable materials within three feet of the generator. 4. Operating motorized vehicles on designated roads and trails. 5. Emergency repair of public utilities and railroads as per attached conditions. 6. Persons conducting activities in those designated areas where the activity is specifically authorized by written posted notice. 7. Any Federal, State, or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty. 8. All land within a city boundary is exempted. 9. Other exemptions unique to each agency/tribe.

The exemptions listed are the standard exemptions, but additional and more specific exemptions may exist depending on your location. To see if there are specific exemptions in your area please visit: https://firerestrictions.us/mt/ or contact your appropriate fire protection agency with further questions.

Violations: You could be fined up to $5,000 individually or $10,000 for an organization and imprisonment up to 6 months for violating restrictions and closures. You can be held liable for all suppression costs and damages if you start a fire.

U.S. Department of U.S. Department of Montana Flathead County State of Interior Agriculture Montana Montana

National Park Service Forest County Fire Wardens Office of Emergency Department of Natural Service Association Services Resources and Conservation