Lightning keeps fire crews busy

Rain brings welcome relief, but it comes with a price.

Officials with the Tribal Division of Fire have been keeping busy over the past week, as small storms passed through the area, bringing much needed rain but also lightning, which caused two more fires over the weekend.

The Stevens fire outside of Arlee has burned 22 acres, but is 70 percent contained, and a crew of 50 is staffing that fire.

On Sunday afternoon, fire crews responded to the Loon Lake area when a lightning strike caused a small fire that was quickly contained.

"We were very successful in catching that. It only burned four or five acres and is 100 percent contained," Tribal fire information officer Germaine White.

White credited quick responses from local fire crews in helping Tribal fire crews respond and contain fires quickly, as more than 30 fires have started on the reservation in the past two weeks.

A reconnaissance flight over Ashley Lake confirmed that the fire that started there a week ago due to a lightning strike has not grown significantly, and remains at about two acres in size. The fire did not grow much over the weekend, despite stronger winds, according to information provided by the Tribal Division of Fire.

The Ashley Lake fire is burning in the grizzly bear management zone, which is closed to all recreation use until Oct. 1. The fire is burning in an area that is unsafe for fire crews to respond to, but poses no threat to any residential or developed areas.

Right now, the fire is being managed using a "confinement" strategy, and fire officials will use towers and over-flights to continue to monitor it.

Tribal fire officials gathered over the weekend, as they have been almost every day this month, to debrief and discuss fire suppression tactics, new fires, resources and logistics.

Fire management officer Tony Harwood told the staff there were 26 active or contained fires on the reservation since fire activity took off two weeks ago, but all things considered, fire crews were doing a good job, he said.

"We're actually doing pretty good with those numbers, keeping them small," he said.

The debriefing included administrative assistant Patti Clairmont; assistant dispatcher Joe Couture; Lori Gould, who handles equipment and logistics; Rod Couture, who also works in logistics; resource unit leader Stephen McDonald; incident commander Darrell Clairmont, fire information officer Germaine White; and helicopter manager Todd Couture.

The group discussed crew availability, as most of the crews currently working on the reservation were approaching their 14-day limit as of last weekend - a limit designed to ensure crews are healthy and well rested, but one that requires fresh crews every two weeks.

The team discussed where new crews might come from, noting that the Northwest Montana Fair in Kalispell could impact crew availability at the local level.

While fire danger is still extreme on the reservation, small rain storms can bring a false sense of security to local residents, some of whom are calling Tribal fire officials and asking if it's OK to start campfires, White noted at the meeting.

She said despite the fact that Stage II fire restrictions are still in effect and well-publicized, most of those calls are coming from folks who are camping on the lake, and who are emboldened by the close proximity to a large body of water. One caller asked if he could shoot off fireworks for his daughter's wedding.

Stage II fire restrictions prohibit campfires of any type, even if they are in an enclosed "safety ring." Smoking is prohibited except in vehicles or buildings, unless it is in an area that has a three-foot diameter cleared of flammable materials; off-road driving is prohibited, and operating a chainsaw or other equipment powered by an internal combustion engine is prohibited from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Harwood noted after the meeting that a small rainstorm will only temporarily halt extreme fire conditions for a few days at the most, at which point fuels go right back to their pre-rain conditions. During that time, lightning-caused fires can smolder for several days before flaring up, so that fire crews have to be vigilant for days after a storm, Harwood noted.

"Despite the fact that we had a little rain we are still in very high to extreme fire danger across the reservation, and we remain in Stage II fire restrictions," White said.

For more information on restrictions, contact White at 883-2888.