Wildfire cleanup efforts begin

More than 48,000 acres burned throughout Sanders County as part of the Highway 200 Complex. Hundreds of firefighting personnel were in the area battling the blazes, the largest being the Deep Creek fire west of Thompson Falls, and the Sheep Gap fire west of Plains.

Now comes the task of cleaning up the burned area and salvaging what timber can be saved.

Next week, the Forest Service will lead a field trip of the Sheep Gap Fire. The trip will begin at the Plains/Thompson Falls District at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7. The agency will provide transportation for attendees, but asks that people bring lunch and dress appropriately for a day in the outdoors.

District Ranger David Hattis said that a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER)team was recently in the area, analyzing the Sheep Gap fire. Hattis said the team included a variety of experts who look at the effects of the fires. This includes pacts to the soil and determining any risks to public safety – such as potential for slides – as a result of the fire.

From there the BAER team recommends treatments for the forests. This can include ways to combat invasive weed species, improvements to trails, and culverts that help accommodate runoff, Hattis said.

The other aspect of assessing fire damage is looking at opportunities to salvage burned timber, Hattis said. He noted that there are two timber sales in the area of the Copper King fire, which burned between Thompson Falls and Plains in 2016.

According to David Haupt, Forest Timber Management Officer, “a host of salvage opportunities are available across the forest. However, some of the opportunities are not feasible due to the lower quantity or quality of timber. In addition, in the areas that we have identified for salvage, it is likely that only a portion of them may actually be harvested due to road access or other resource considerations. However, it still appears there is a substantial amount of burned timber available for local mills.” 

“Similar to past fire salvage efforts on the Lolo National Forest, resource protection measures would be applied to mitigate any potential effects from timber harvest and haul,” said Chris Partyka, Forest Environmental Coordinator. To relieve human health and safety hazards, mitigate threats to natural resources on National Forest and adjacent land, and avoid loss of commodity value that could jeopardize the ability to accomplish project objectives for resource protection, the Lolo is planning on requesting an Emergency Situation Determination (ESD) from the Chief of the Forest Service. 

Forest interaction with the public remains a key component to successful post-fire treatments.

To participate in the rout of the Sheep Gap fire area, RSVP by Nov. 6 to Pat Partyka at 826-4314 or [email protected].