Crews halt most fires in one day

By JIM MANN

Initial attack pays off during busy fire season

The Daily Inter Lake

The 2006 fire season was a knockout for firefighters in Northwest Montana, even though it was a busy season with plenty of potential for large fires to emerge.

Initial-attack firefighters responded to wave after wave of lightning starts across the region.

And their success was fortunate, because most national firefighting resources were occupied by large fires elsewhere. The vast majority of fires in the Kootenai and Flathead areas were out within a day at the hands of roving initial attack firefighters.

The Kootenai National Forest responded to 247 fires that burned 1,080 acres, while there were an additional 49 fires that burned 40 acres on the Libby Unit of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

The total of 296 fires vastly exceeded the long-term seasonal average of 180 fires for that area.

"It was a well-above-average fire season both for numbers of fires and our fire severity conditions," said Charlie Webster, fire management officer for the Kootenai National Forest. "And I think the important thing for us is that everyone came home safely this year … Firefighters are exposed in a season like this when you have that many fires. There's a lot of aircraft and a lot of moving parts out there."

The Kootenai had just two fires that escaped initial response for a suppression success rate of 99 percent, Webster said.

Both escaped fires were in remote areas; the largest was the Ross Creek Complex that totaled 800 acres about 15 miles south of Troy.

The Flathead National Forest and other lands under state protection had less activity but similar success.

The Flathead Forest had 92 fire starts, compared to a historic average of 80 fires per year. Excluding 16 fires that were allowed to burn in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, the forest had 76 suppression fires, including two escaped fires, for a 97 percent success rate for initial attack.

The two fires that required an extended attack started the same day, Aug. 21, and were both at high elevation in rugged areas that required unorthodox approaches, said Allen Chrisman, the forest's fire management officer.

The Holland Peak fire ended up burning 1,840 acres on the Swan Range just east of Condon. Firefighters could not directly approach the fire at first, but it eventually backed downslope into fire lines.

Similar tactics were used to contain the Sun Dog Fire, which burned 920 acres on the Whitefish Range.

"Once we're into extended attack, we need to look strategically at what's smart to do with these fires, rather than just pour unlimited resources into them and throw money at them," Chrisman said. "The fact is, we don't have unlimited resources when there's a lot of fire activity."

The tactics used on both fires saved money and were effective, Chrisman added.

The 16 "fire use" fires in the wilderness burned roughly 3,700 acres, with expected benefits for vegetation and wildlife habitat. While those fires were closely monitored, they did not require any firefighting expense.

The Flathead Forest is in charge of protecting mostly high-elevation areas in and around the Flathead Valley, while the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation protects lower-elevation areas that can have considerably more fire activity.

This year, there were a total of 125 fires starts on the state department's Kalispell, Plains, Stillwater and Swan units, totaling about 445 acres. The largest - and the only one to escape initial attack - was the 350-acre Murr Creek fire south of Marion.

The number of starts was about average, but the success rate for initial attack was exceptional, said Dan Cassidy, fire and forestry assistance program manager for the state agency's Kalispell Land Office.

"I think we were extremely successful," Cassidy said.

Webster, Chrisman and Cassidy all attributed successful firefighting efforts to strong cooperation between all fire-protection agencies. They gave particular credit to rural fire departments that were on hand, and often first to arrive, at fires in forest lands close to homes.

With most firefighting resources assigned to large fires elsewhere in the state and the West, cooperation was critical in Northwest Montana, Cassidy said.

"I think that was really important this year, given the number of large fires," he said. "We had to be really good about sharing resources."

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com