(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Four fires spark in Montana in 24 hours, but fewer burns than last summer – Daily Montanan [1] ['Nicole Girten', 'More From Author', '- July'] Date: 2022-07-18 As many as 15 wildfires were burning in Montana on Monday, with four starting in the last 24 hours, according to the Montana Disaster and Emergency Services dashboard. So far, 672 fires have sparked to date this year, a drop from last year’s fire season that saw 1,463 wildland fires that had burned 337,863 acres by this time. As of publication, nine fires were active in the state. Experts have said that even the temporary relief from increased precipitation this year will not be enough to make up for drought deficits of past years. Both Missoula and Yellowstone counties are now considered to be in high fire danger, with Flathead County soon to follow, according to Julia Berkey, community preparedness and wildfire prevention program manager at the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Missoula County Fire Danger in Missoula County was increased to high on Monday due to high temperatures and dry grasses and vegetation, according to a news release from the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management. This change in fire danger comes after a 4.3-acre fire burned just north of Missoula on Sunday evening that was contained in one hour, according to a press release from the Missoula Rural Fire District shared by Newsy. Flames reached as high as eight feet but the burn caused no reported injuries or structure damage. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, per the release, however, fireworks were reported in the area before the fire started. “Spring and early summer rains have provided us with plenty of grasses and ‘flashy’ fuels that are now starting to dry and cure, increasing the likelihood of a fire start growing quickly and becoming a much more complex, larger wildfire,” said Lolo National Forest Fire Staff Officer Colt Mortenson in the Missoula County Fire Protection Association press release. Lewis and Clark County This past weekend saw another fire in Montana that is still being contained just north of Helena near Moors Mountain in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. The 150-acre fire started Saturday due to lightning, and a closure order is is in effect in the east half of Gates of the Mountains Wilderness, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group incident report updated Monday morning. On the #MoorsMountainFire retardant was used on the ridgeline yesterday to allow smokejumpers to establish an anchor point. Today, a 20-person crew made its way out to the fire and Shane Martin’s Type III Team was in-briefed and will assume command of the fire tomorrow at 6 a.m. pic.twitter.com/63fKrzdFNx — Helena-Lewis&ClarkNF (@LewisandClarkNF) July 18, 2022 “Fire traffic will be concentrated on Beaver Creek Road east of Nelson so please avoid this area if possible,” the report reads. As of Monday morning, there are two hand crews and six aircraft working to manage the fire, with more resources expected. Let us know what you think... Yellowstone County Yellowstone County is currently in stage one fire restrictions, with a ban on open fire burning, according to the fire restrictions MTDNRC map. The county went into high fire danger with restrictions effective July 1. The vast majority of fires in Montana are human caused, Fire Protection Bureau Chief for the Montana DNRC’s Forestry Division Matthew Hall told the Daily Montanan. Missoula County Emergency Management asks that when enjoying the outdoors, people take caution and practice fire safety measures. Equipment and vehicle sparks were a primary cause of wildfires in 2021, according to the MCFPA release, so they recommend exercising caution when mowing your lawn or field, haying, or dragging a trailer. “Low mower and haying blades can hit rocks and cause sparks while trailer chains that are too long can drag on roadways and produce hundreds of sparks. Cut when conditions are cooler and there is no wind, and always have a fire extinguisher or water, and tools nearby,” the release read. “Make sure safety chains are crossed and a minimum of five inches from the ground.” Berkey said fire season is not something that is handled by firefighters alone and that the public has a large role to play in both preparing for fire season and in preventing wildfires. Preparing for wildfires, Berkey said, can look like preparing for evacuation, preparing your home for smoke and hardening your home to make it more resistant to ignition. “What most homes burn down from is embers,” she said. “A home can be miles away from the fire, but if a wind driven ember is pushed far enough, it can get into the home and ignite it.” She said simple maintenance can help prevent embers from entering the home like stapling 1/8 inch mesh in all openings and vents or more extensive projects like replacing eaves so they don’t have openings underneath them or replacing single pane windows with double double pane windows. Other low cost ways to prepare against embers include raking up leaves and cleaning out gutters, Berkey said. The U.S. Forest Service recommends the following for campfires, according to their website: -Use only dead and downed wood. -Where fires are permitted use established fire rings, fire pans or mound fires. Do not make a fire ring of rocks. -Burn all wood and coals to ash, extinguish campfires completely then widely scatter cool ashes. -Never leave a smoldering campfire, as wind can cause it to flare up. For more information on wildfires in Montana, fire preparedness and prevention tips and information on restrictions go to https://www.mtfireinfo.org/. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/07/18/four-fires-spark-in-montana-in-24-hours-but-fewer-burns-than-last-summer/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/