Forest plans prescribed fire projects

Fire managers on Flathead National Forest are planning to conduct fall prescribed fire projects when weather, fuel conditions and air quality become favorable.

Smoke will be visible from various places in the Flathead and Swan Valleys depending on the location of the burn units and weather conditions.

Each project follows a prescribed fire burn plan. The prescribed fire projects are located, designed and controlled to reduce the potential for adverse effects. These projects will be in compliance with Montana air quality standards and coordinated with Montana State Department of Environmental Quality to reduce the impacts of smoke to neighbors, cooperators, and surrounding communities.

Debris piles stacked by hand or machine are located across the Flathead National Forest and are a result of: logging, hazardous fuels reduction in the wildland urban interface, hazard tree removal, recreation site management and trail or road construction. These piles are burned to reduce fuel loads in these areas. The piles are strategically burned based on their location, access and weather conditions.

In the Tally Lake Ranger District, prescribed fire projects are planned for the Whitefish Municipal Watershed Fuels Reduction. This project, located about four miles northeast of Whitefish, is designed to manage fuels within the Whitefish municipal watershed. Just over 750 acres are planned for prescribed fire treatment over the next 10 to 15 years.

For additional information about the project, contact Mike West at the Tally Lake Ranger District in Kalispell, 406-758-5204.