Fire rules lifted

Wildland managers have lifted fire restrictions for all of northwest Montana, although the Flathead County commissioners have yet to lift restrictions within the county.

The commissioners will meet Thursday to discuss fire restrictions.

As of Tuesday, all fire restrictions were lifted on Flathead National Forest,      Kootenai National Forest, Bob Marshall Wilderness lands within the Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service lands, state lands, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks lands, and Lincoln and Sanders counties.

Flathead County commissioners Gary Krueger and Pam Holmquist met Friday afternoon in a formal session to consider lifting Stage 2 restrictions on private lands in the county. Commissioner Phil Mitchell was out of town and couldn’t be reached. After listening to updated information from county Fire Service Area Manager Lincoln Chute and getting a recommendation from Chute to lift Stage 2 but keep Stage 1 fire restrictions, Holmquist favored that approach and made a motion to that effect.

Krueger, however, wanted all fire restrictions lifted, saying he believes imposing any such restrictions on private land “oversteps our authority.”

When he voted against Holmquist’s motion, the 1-1 vote failed for lack of a majority.

Stage 2 restrictions were imposed in late August on federal, state and county lands as numerous wildfires continued to grow throughout the region. Flathead County tweaked the exemptions to allow farming, construction work and the use of internal combustion engines except for off-road use. Stage 2 prohibits all campfires.

Chute told the commissioners federal and state agencies were preparing to lift the Stage 2 restrictions but retain Stage 1 requirements. Rainfall over the past several days, along with a cooling trend, have moderated fire conditions, he said.

“The probability of large fire buildup would be limited,” Chute said. “I recommend we go back to Stage 1.”

Lifting the Stage 2 restrictions would give residents more flexibility with recreational activities and campfires over the long Labor Day weekend, he added. If heat and wind become factors again, the county could reimpose Stage 2 restrictions, but Chute explained the “burn window every day is shorter” now and there is more fire recovery.

Chute cautioned, however, that the amount of dry grass along highways and elsewhere still poses a fire danger.

“The energy release component [of the fire fuels] is the same now as it was when the Evergreen fire happened,” Chute said, referring to a cigarette-caused wildfire that swept through an Evergreen neighborhood last month, destroying numerous structures. “If the sun comes out and the wind blows ... the grass would readily burn. With the amount of dry fuels 100 percent cured out, the possibility of starting a fire is substantial.”

Given that rationale, Holmquist said she could not vote to lift Stage 1 restrictions, which banned fireworks and smoking outdoors but allowed campfires in fire grates.

Krueger said he believes any fire restrictions are “an imposition on private property rights.” He moved to lift both Stage 1 and 2 restrictions, but his motion failed for lack of a second.

“We’re no longer in an immediate threat that a fire would be out of control,” Krueger maintained. “As someone who combines wheat fields ... I don’t believe there’s any more fire danger this year than any other year. I don’t believe there’s a high fire hazard at this time.”

Krueger’s comments referred to the area from Montana 206 to the east, Farm-to-Market Road to the west; Flathead Lake to the south and Montana 40 to the north.

Krueger said a July 3 memorandum from the Montana Association of Counties advised that there’s a question over whether counties can ban fireworks on private land.

Association Executive Director Harold Blattie said “the fact that the Legislature has refused to grant counties the specific authority to enact fireworks bans carries the strong implication that counties do not have the authority to ban fireworks.

“MACO has previously supported that premise so has never recommended to counties that they have the authority to ban fireworks,” Blattie stated.