Big burn planned this week
Intentionally setting fire to a crackling-dry forest that already has multiple fires burning may seem harebrained, but it may not be if you're expecting a sudden turn to winter weather.
And that's what's expected: rain, cold and even snow starting Wednesday night and continuing through the weekend.
Based on that forecast, the Flathead National Forest quickly set in motion plans to ignite a prescribed fire in the Paint-Emery forest management project area east of Hungry Horse Reservoir today or Wednesday.
"The conditions are right," said James Barnett, the assistant fire management officer on the Hungry Horse Ranger District. "We have this massive, wet weather system and it gives us an opportunity to try to sneak in front of that and then have rain and snow come in."
There are about 4,000 acres of forest targeted for burning, but Barnett said that realistically the burn will cover 1,000 to 2,000 acres.
That will certainly put off a large smoke column, easily visible from the Flathead Valley and even East Glacier, said Denise Germann, the Flathead Forest's public affairs officer.
That's what happened last fall when a similar burn operation was carried out in the Paint-Emery area. About 3,000 acres have been burned in the area over the last few years. The project took years to develop, largely on the recommendations of a collaborative group called Flathead Common Ground.
Approved in 1999, the project involved timber harvest and road removal work, along with plans for prescribed fire on about 7,000 acres.
This week's burning will involve the use of a helicopter fitted with a "helitorch."
The National Weather Service predicts that starting Wednesday night, a "huge change will take place" with a cold air mass moving into Western Montana from Canada. The system is expected to bring rain to lower elevations and snow above 4,000 feet, with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s.
"We are going from warm summer vacation weather and fighting wildfires to winter travel plans with some snow likely in the mountain passes," the service's fire weather forecast states.
That same forecast, however, predicts higher winds in front of the weather system. And that will be watched closely before there is a decision to proceed with the prescribed burn, Barnett said.
Germann said fire officials are viewing the incoming weather as a potential "season-ending event" that could effectively put a lid on active fires across Western Montana.
On the Flathead Forest, that would be welcome turn for firefighters that have been working on the troublesome Holland Peak fire and another fire that emerged about 10 miles south on the Swan Mountain Range.
The 1,646-acre Holland Peak fire, burning just east of Condon, has been active on its southwestern flank in recent days. The fire's behavior and general difficulty in rough terrain prompted the decision to turn it over to a Type II incident management team Sunday.
Pat McKelvey, an information officer with that team, said suppression efforts will continue until the weather changes.
"Anytime you get a front like this, you don't want the winds that come with it to pick up this fire and take it where you don't want it to go," he said. "We're going to continue to plug away at suppression and watch for the winds."
Like the Holland Peak Fire, the Ptarmigan Fire started high on the Swan Range. After it was detected Sunday night it quickly grew to 7 acres and by Monday afternoon it had covered about 25 acres.
"It's very similar to what this Holland Peak fire was initially," McKelvey said. "It's up in the high country, kind of wedged in between two avalanche chutes."
The Spotted Bear Ranger District picked up several fire starts over the weekend in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. But those fires and several others that have been small so far will be short-lived if this week's weather matches the forecast.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com