HELENA — Prescribed burning is vital to the forest environment but recent human-caused fires are making that difficult.
Chiara Cipriano, the spokeswoman for Helena-Lewis and Clark national forest says human-caused fires this time of year are not that common.
“Typically we do not see that many human-caused fires this time of the year because there is snow on the ground and not much room for the fire to spread; however, this year it is quite a bit drier than a typical season and we are seeing a number of human-caused starts," Cipriano says.
Great Falls dispatch has sent resources to three human-caused fires within or adjacent to the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest in recent days.
When someone calls in a smoke sighting from an unattended fire this takes time away from fire personnel who are hard at work on prescribed burns.
Fire crews have a short window to perform prescribed burns. These burns have to be done at a time when the weather is not too harsh and both the ground and fuel are not too dry or too wet.
Cipriano says, "Prescribed burns is our real chance to be proactive as a community, to reduce excess fuels, to create healthier forests that are going to lead more opportunities for hunting, protect our watersheds and protect ours homes and communities."
People like hunters and others out recreating in the forest may start a small fire to keep warm, which is quite common this time of year, but it's critical to not leave those fires unattended.
"I would say this is still a great time of year to come out and enjoy the forest as always year round make sure your fire is out and cold to the touch before leaving it unattended," said Cipriano.
