Fire season heats up: Three human caused fires ignite over the weekend
Photo courtesy of Tom Maloney/Polson Fire Department<br>The Irvine Flats fire was fully contained by Saturday night, due to quick response by Tribal, Polson and Ronan fire crews, but fire crews had to respond to several lightning-caused fires on Tuesday night due to a storm that passed through. Results of those fire suppression activities were unavailable by presstime.
Fire fighters responded to three fires over the weekend, all of which were human caused, but were contained due to quick responses by local and Tribal fire crews.
A fire in Irvine Flats was reported at 10:55 a.m. Saturday morning. Tribal Division of Fire, Polson Fire Department and Ronan Fire Department responded quickly to the fire with crews and heavy equipment resources. The crews, with the aid of three large air tankers making aerial retardant drops, were able to contain the fire by approximately 7 p.m. Saturday night, according to Tribal fire officials.
The Frenchtown fire department responded to the area to be on standby and for structure protection, Polson fire chief Tom Maloney said.
The Irvine fire burned approximately 1,053 acres. No structures were threatened. As of Tuesday afternoon, crews were still at the scene with mop up operations. A fire investigator determined that the source of the fire was from farm equipment.
A fire in Welcome Springs, located four miles from Rainbow Lake near Hot Springs in Sanders County, was reported at 4 p.m. Saturday and burned approximately 35 acres. Full containment was reached. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
On Sunday, a fire was reported at 11:40 a.m. at White Swan, at the west shore of Flathead Lake at the end of Rocky Point. Firefighters responded to the fire which grew to less than one half acre before it was 100 percent contained. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Monday night, the Polson fire department responded to another fire outside of Big Arm, but crews were able to contain it in less than an hour.
"We remain concerned about the combination of dry weather conditions, extreme fire danger and the continuing potential for large fire occurrence within the Reservation," said Fire Management Officer Tony Harwood. "Firefighter and public safety is our highest priority, so continued adherence to the Stage II fire restrictions is critical."
"We are very fortunate to have caught these fires. They had great fire potential. There was rapid response and good communication among all of the local resources," he added.