Blaine County implementing Stage 1 fire restrictions

Blaine County will move into Stage 1 fire restrictions Friday at 12:01 a.m. after another week of dangerous drought conditions and fires.

The announcement was made during a regional fire call Tuesday morning.

The restrictions prohibit building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire, except within an established metal fire ring within a designated, developed campground or recreation site, in Blaine County.

Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials, is also prohibited.

People with a written permit that specifically authorized the otherwise prohibited act are exempted along with people using a device solely fueled by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned on and off, provided they are used in an area that is barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable materials within three feet of device.

Fires in those designated areas where the activity is specifically authorized by written post, or in areas that may have unique agency or tribe exemptions are also not prohibited.

Fort Belknap is in a burn ban, but has not moved into Stage 1 fire restrictions.

Blaine County saw five machine-caused fires last week, including one south of Chinook that burned 250 acres.

Hill County firefighters responded to that fire, assisting Blaine County while dealing with three fires of its own this past week, which burned 55 acres.

Chouteau County saw eight fires in that time resulting in just under 100 burned acres.

Fort Belknap had two fires, one caused by lightning and one caused by human error, which burned 35 acres and one acre, respectively.

During Tuesday’s fire call, where these details were provided, Lead Meteorologist James Brusda of the National Weather Service Office in Great Falls said the main concern fire-wise in the next week is thunderstorm potential and the lightning-caused fires that may come with it.

Brusda said storms may bring gusting winds with them which is also a concern and people should be extra cautious especially in areas with decreased visibility, which will make storms harder to see coming.

He said anyone experiencing this problem can get in touch with the Weather Service if they want more frequent storm updates.

He said the light rainfall some of the region saw early this week was insignificant and will not improve conditions.

Brusda also said, as August approaches, overnight recovery on humidity is practically nonexistent, which will make for even worse conditions.

“We’re coming into a time of year where humidity could be less than 25 percent for a couple days straight, especially with the heat wave,” he said.

He said excessive heat warnings are in effect across eastern Montana with areas east of Lewistown predicted to see temperatures as high as 106 degrees.

He said the chance of precipitation in this region is listed as 20 percent, but he thinks 10 percent is more realistic.

Great Falls and Glasgow are faring a bit better and will see these warnings end soon, though, he said.

Brusda said things are going to cool off a little bit in north-central Montana but only a little bit.

He said temperatures in the low 90s will persist, which is still well-above normal for this time of year, but will be a slight reprieve from last week.

He said any rainfall the region sees will likely be highly localized and the chances of getting a half-inch, the minimum required rainfall to have any effect on the drought conditions, are slim.

The representative encouraged everyone to be careful in the coming week.