County moving to Stage 2

by Annie Wooden

Sanders County Commissioners announced earlier this week that fire restrictions will be elevated to Stage 2 beginning at midnight Friday.

With Stage 2 restrictions, all fires, including camp fires, are prohibited. Also, no internal combustion engines or explosives can be used from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. These “hoot owl” restrictions also apply to welding or operating acetylene or other torches with open flame. The restrictions also require a one-hour foot patrol in the area following those activities. With Stage 2, operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails is prohibited.

Bill Naegeli with Sanders County Emergency Management Services said the county is prepared in case of a fire in the area.

“We’re ahead of where we were last year in terms of preparing for a big fire,” Naegeli said. “We have our stakeholders list and our evacuation packets set up and distributed to law enforcement personnel. Last year and the year before, we had started from scratch.”

The largest fire in Sanders County is the Garden Creek Fire near Hot Springs. Naegeli said that fire is on Bureau of Indian Affairs and Forest Service lands, and not threatening private structures. According to the Sanders County Wildland Fire Information page on Facebook, the fire was listed at 524 acres on Tuesday and was 5 percent contained. The Garden Creek Fire is management by a Type 3 Incident Management Team, with helicopters, bulldozers and crews using “fireline explosives to complete line in some of the rockier ground surrounding the fire.”

The Plains-Thompson Falls Ranger District responded to a small fire on Marmot Peak approximately 10 miles northeast of Thompson Falls. Firefighters and a helicopter contained the small fire, the result of a lightning strike on Sunday evening.

Naegeli said local agencies are closely watching weather. He noted that they are keeping an eye on the Cougar Fire in Idaho in case of winds. The fire, between Clark Fork and Hope, had burned more than 750 acres as of Tuesday.

Naegeli said that moving to Stage 2 restrictions is a preventive measure.

“The public has been very good about not causing human-caused fires, but at this point it’s better to go with restrictions and say no campfires and take away the temptation and possibility of having that accidental fire get away,” Naegeli said.

Naegeli said people should take their own preventive measures in the woods, making sure they have an axe, a shovel, and a water source in case of a fire. He said that having a weed sprayer filled with water is one way to prepare yourself.

There are exemptions for Stage 2 fire restrictions, Naegeli said. If an individual needs an exemption, contact the local fire department, the Forest Service, or the Montana Department of Natural Resources.