GREAT FALLS — With fire season quickly approaching, it is crucial to be prepared whether you reside in a city or a rural area.
“In wildland, we have a saying ‘if you own the fuel, you own the fire,’ so what we want you to do right now, I mean right now, is starting with mitigating the fuels around your house,” said Vaughn Assistant Fire Chief Ken Hanks. “Getting those piles of firewood from against the house, clean up underneath your decks, keep your grass cut short, or trim back, and keep it watered, if you can. That’s buying us time to help you guys out.”
North-central Montana received some showers in May, bringing a decent amount of precipitation, but with June being drier, the grass in central Montana is starting to dry out.
The head meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Great Falls, Jim Brusda, mentioned that Great Falls is currently experiencing abnormally dry conditions for this time of year.
There are various measures we can take to prevent fires, such as practicing safe outdoor cooking, adhering to city and county burn ordinances, and ensuring that backyard campfires are at least 15 feet away from homes.
“Going into summer, we had a relatively wet spring, leading to the growth of lightweight fuels like grasses and shrubs in town and surrounding areas; now they are drying out rapidly, becoming fire-ready,” said Great Falls Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Bob. “Just one hot day is all it takes for everything to be ready to burn.”
The grass in central Montana is drying out, and with the dryer, warmer, and windier conditions expected, the likelihood of fires increases as we head into July.
“To prevent a severe wildfire season, we need rainfall in the upcoming weeks. Although we have a weather system coming in next week with potential for rain, we require a significant amount of rainfall, up to an inch and a half, to have a substantial impact on our upcoming fire season,” added Brusda.
Click here for more information on current drought conditions.
