Prescribed Field Burning in Kootenai River Valley Sunday
Smoke from the Russel Mountain fire near Westside Road. Fire is also part of the Kootenai Rive Complex fires.
(Courtesy Photo Lisa Iverson)
Starting around 1 p.m. Sunday Sept. 4, Boundary County residents may see several fields being burned by private landowners on the east side of the Kootenai River, Andrew O'Neel
Boundary County Office of Emergency Management/PIO said in press release. These field burns have been coordinated with the U.S. Forest Service and Idaho Department of Lands and are a preemptive measure to reduce available fuels in the valley.
Pre-burning of available fuels will reduce the likelihood of spot fires starting in the river valley from embers that may originate from the Kootenai River Complex fires. The field burns will occur in irrigation districts 4, 5 and 6 in the Kootenai River Valley. The four fires in the Kootenai River Complex, currently burning in the Selkirk range, have not crossed into the valley and are still located west of Westside Road. Columns of smoke seen after 1:00 p.m. on the east side of the Kootenai River are prescribed burns and do not require an emergency call.
Kootenai River Complex fires has been reported to be 9,421 acres.
Closures: Due to fire suppression activities and active fires effect we advise that visitors avoid Ball Creek Road (FSR 432), Trout Creek Road (FSR 634), and trails. Impacted Trails include Russell Mountain (No. 12), Russell Ridge (No. 92), Ball & Pyramid Lakes (No. 43), Pyramid Pass Trail (No. 13), Pyramid Peak (No. 7), Fisher Peak (No. 27), and Trout Lake (No. 41).
The food fueled Firefighters through the next ten plus hours while they worked with their partners from Forestry Services and IDL patrolling the Westside Road area.
To sign up for Nixle text alerts from the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office text “83805” to the phone number 888777.
Boundary County Emergency Information Hotline is: 208-696-2626. Updates to any emergencies in the county, including evacuations and when it is safe to return from an evacuation, will be in a recorded message on this hotline. Put it in your contacts so you have it handy.
As a reminder, civilian drones are not allowed around active fires. Flying drones near an emergency scene is against the law and will interfere with firefighting aircraft, working against the firefighters on scene.