BLM plans controlled burns for Blackfoot Valley

MISSOULA– Smoke may be visible periodically during the next two months in the mountains east of Missoula as the Bureau of Land Management's Missoula Field Office prepares for five controlled burns.

All of the burns are located in the Blackfoot Valley: four are located approximately five miles southwest of Clearwater Junction; the other burn is 12 miles west of Lincoln.

The burns may take up to 14 days to complete, and will take place when weather and fuel conditions are favorable, but could occur anytime over the next two months.

The controlled burns will reduce the amount of vegetation and hazardous fuels in the area. Fire specialists are attempting to restore the historic vegetative conditions characterized by large-diameter Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, and western larch, with intermittent openings of shrubs, forbs, and bunch grasses. By removing the small, "ladder fuels" and down woody debris, the impact of large wildfires is also reduced.

Firefighters will light the controlled burns by ground ignition using drip torches and by aerial ignition using helicopters outfitted with aerial ignition devices. Firefighters from the BLM, United States Forest Service, and Montana Department of Natural Resource Conservation, will be involved in the projects.

For more information, contact BLM Fire Management Specialist Steve Hancock at the Missoula Field Office, (406) 329-3869.