Fire bans lifted for area forests

By ALEX STRICKLAND - Bigfork Eagle

Officials have lifted fire restrictions for all of Western Montana including Flathead County after a busy fire season in Northwest Montana.

"You can have a campfire in your backyard now," Flathead National Forest Fire Program Leader Allen Chrisman said. "Hunters can have campfires in the woods."

Chrisman said Stage 1 restrictions were lifted last week in Flathead County and Steve Zachry of the Lolo National Forest said restrictions were lifted for all of Western Montana effective midnight Tuesday.

Still, Chrisman said, people should be careful as big fuel can dry out quickly as only the surface got moisture from recent precipitation.

There is an open burning ban in place in Flathead County until Oct 1. For more information on open burning in Flathead County visit http://firesafekalispell.com.

"We (Flathead National Forest and cooperating agencies) would really like to thank the public for its cooperation with Stage 1 and 2 restrictions," Chrisman said. "It made a big difference.

"We're fortunate in this part of the country that folks have a good feel for the woods and are more conscious of dangers," he said.

Northwest Montana bore the brunt of this year's fire season, with several of the largest fires in the state, including the biggest, the Chippy Creek Fire. Located 42 miles southwest of Kalispell, it burned almost 100,000 acres. The Brush Creek Fire burned about 30,000 acres 25 miles west of Whitefish and the Jocko Lakes Fire, which threatened the town of Seeley Lake, grew to 36,000 acres in the six weeks it burned.