Fire season has arrived

Fire restrictions are now in place across Crook County. According to Fire Warden Doug Leis, not only are conditions primed for a severe fire season in this area, we’ve already seen a number of incidents.

“Over the last week, we’ve been starting to have fires. Now it’s like every time a storm comes through, we end up with one or two,” Leis says.

This includes two fires on Monday morning and two the day before. It’s already getting to be pretty much every day, he says.

“It’s here to stay for a while this year. We’re just looking at the weather forecast outlook ahead is to stay in this dry pattern through September, with low moisture, a lot of dry wind,” he says.

“We’re trying to stay on our toes. If we get a call, we’re trying to get people out there and get on it as quickly as we can and make our initial attack really count before they get big. That’s our goal for this year.”

Meanwhile, Leis points out that we’ve reached the point of the cycle where Crook County traditionally experiences its worst fires.

“Historically, every four years we’ve fallen into this pattern and we’ve had a lot of fires and we usually end up with a large fire. Hopefully, this year we can break that, but we will deal with it as it comes,” he says.

With the storms still coming, Leis says everyone in the community can contribute to efforts to keep the fires to a minimum. Keep your eyes peeled if you know that lightning hit close by, he says, and call the fire department as soon as you spot one.

Many of the recent storms have been taking place at night, Leis adds, which means potential fires often won’t be spotted until later the next day.

“They sit there and smolder and as the winds come up and the heat comes up and the humidity goes down, they show up in the afternoons and get to going,” he says.

Of the incidents so far, several have been grass fires.

“There have been some in the timber – three or four have been lightning strikes in trees. We’ve been lucky to keep everything small, we haven’t had much of anything over an acre,” he says.

So far, there has been one notable exception: a fire near Hulett in a hay field that burned around 30 acres.

“We’ve been lucky in the timber, we found them and they weren’t running hard and we got in there and got them out before they got going,” he says.

Leis says Crook County is fortunate in its fire response, which has been excellent so far this year.

“Everybody has been doing a wonderful job so far. We’re getting calls and there are lots of people responding,” he says. “That’s what it takes, in a year like this.”

The restrictions now in place are not a complete ban, Leis says, and were held back until after the July 4 holiday.

“Weston County had theirs implemented on June 25 already and I just felt that the people have been so strapped down this year and they’re just finally getting to get out and go camping,” he explains.

“That’s why we didn’t go with the full ban, we just went with the partial, still allowing campfires in a cleared area and you can still use a chainsaw and all that stuff, you just need to be in a cleared area and be fire-wise.”

The restrictions prohibit the discharge of fireworks and the use of exploding target devices. All outdoor fires will also be prohibited unless they follow specific rules.

Trash fires will only be permitted between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. and must take place inside containers provided with spark arresters and within a cleared area ten feet in radius. Campfires must be contained within established fire rings at established campgrounds.

Charcoal fires within enclosed grills will be permitted, and acetylene cutting torches and electric arc welders may be used, but only within cleared areas ten feet in radius. Propane and open fire branding activities must also take place within cleared areas ten feet in radius.

The ban does not apply to the cities and towns or federal lands. It will remain in place until the fire warden determines it is appropriate to lift the restrictions.