Fire danger at 'extreme'

POLSON — Already perched precariously at an “extreme” level of fire danger, unabating hot and dry conditions are causing officials in the area to prepare for an even greater threat of wildfires in the near future.

“It is very dry and it will take nothing to start (a fire),” said Polson fire chief John Fairchild.

If current weather conditions persist, Fairchild said that the Flathead Reservation is set to enter into a Stage I fire restriction on Aug. 1. At that point, far-reaching precautionary measures are taken to minimize the risk of accidentally starting a fire. The restrictions impact everything from smoking - where individuals are forbidden to smoke within a three-foot radius of flammable material - to commercial activities such as logging, or anything else that can produce a spark.

“It should be common sense, let’s put it that way,” Fairchild said of the upcoming safeguards.

With fires raging throughout western Montana, local residents need look no further than neighboring communities to understand the gravity of the situation.

In Mineral County, a wildfire nearly engulfed the town of Superior and charred thousands of acres.

Meanwhile, in the Flathead National Forest, about a dozen human-caused blazes have already occurred this fire season, according to public affairs officer Wade Muehlhof.

“This year we’ve had more human-caused fires start to date than we have in the last few years,” said Muehlhof.

“It’s very serious. Here we are at the end of July and things are already really drying out.”