Our Viewpoint: Give a hoot to prevent forest fires

Last year driving through Paradise on the day the River Road East fire ignited, it was something I had never experienced. I have seen documentaries about fast-moving wildfires in other parts of the country, but watching sparks fly over Highway 200 and the growing fire cloud swirling across the mountain was just incredible.

In 2021 when the Thorne Creek fire roared above Thompson Falls, I would sit every night and watch the fire creep across the mountains. Again, it was an eery, incredible sight to take in.

It seems that we are getting more and more used to having forest fires each year. While we can't control everything, we can do our part to prevent forest fires.

Woodsy Owl always told us "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute!" and Smokey Bear advised that "Only you can prevent forest fires." These lessons have remained important for decades.

Last weekend I ventured onto social media, and there were a few reports of people coming upon campfires that were still smoldering. In this hot, dry weather, it seems like a no-brainer that you would make sure your campfires are out. However, people still need to be reminded, just like kids need to be reminded to pick up their room or brush their teeth at night.

The Montana Office of Tourism has devleoped a toolkit as part of their "Recreate Responsiblty" campaign. While the campaign was developed by the tourism organization, the informaion is valuable to all of us. You can find information on wildifre safety at http://www.mtfireinfo.org, as well as the latest on fires in the state.

For more helpful tips, you can also reach out to smokey himself and visit http://www.smokeybear.com. There are great tips, tools and kids' activities on the site.

It's worth reminding ourselves and others about wildfire safety. It's all part of being good neighbors.

— Annie Wooden