Stage I Fire Restrictions begin July 31
Federal, state, county and private lands
July 27, 2006
The Northwest Montana Zone of the Northern Rockies Coordination Group will implement Stage I fire restrictions beginning Monday, July 31, for Flathead and Kootenai National Forests, Glacier National Park, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation lands, and Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, and Sanders Counties. This also includes the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex (Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and Great Bear Wilderness) lands on the Flathead, Lewis and Clark, Helena, and Lolo National Forests. Land within a city boundary is exempt.
Stage I fire restrictions allow:
-building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire only in developed recreation sites or improved sites,
-devices solely fueled by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned on and off, including backpacker stoves and portable gas grills,
-smoking only in an enclosed vehicle or building, developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
Contained wood stoves with spark arrester screens are allowed only in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.
The restrictions in the Northwest Zone prohibit the use of fireworks on all public lands and any private lands within Flathead, Lincoln, Lake and Sanders Counties. The prohibition of fireworks on all federal and state public lands is by regulation, and by state code on private forested lands. County proclamations prohibit fireworks on private non-forested lands in each county.
The Zone, which includes the US Forest Service, MT Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service and your local fire departments, is established to provide an interagency approach to wildland fire management in Flathead, Lake, Lincoln and Sanders Counties.
Anyone causing a wildfire can be held financially responsible for damages and the cost of putting out that fire. For more information, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/fire/nrcg/ or contact a local Forest Service, Department of Natural Resources and Conservation or National Park Service Office or your local fire department.
Plum Creek Lands in Lincoln County
We called Plum Creek Timber Company and spoke with a representative in their Seattle office. They told us that they expected to also implement Stage I restrictions on their lands on Monday in coordination with what the Forest Service and other agencies are doing.
Related Links:
Stage 1 Fire Restrictions Printable Flyer (PDF, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view)
Kootenai National Forest www.fs.fed.us/r1/kootenai
Northern Rockies Coordination Center
Northern Rockies Coordination Group Northwest Montana Zone
Daily Fire Report (NIFC)
National Large Fire Map
www.inciweb.org Current Wildfire Incident status info
Lincoln County Emergency Management
Plum Creek Timber Company
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