Fire Danger High, Campers Warned Forest Workers Fear Human-Caused Fires In Region Over Labor Day Weekend

Forest Service employees visiting Squaw Creek campground Wednesday along the St. Joe River came across a campfire at an abandoned campsite.

“Someone had gone and left their fire going,” said Charley Miller, recreation specialist with the Panhandle Forest. “We carried water in our hard-hats and put it out.”

With almost 50,000 acres of forest and rangeland burning across the Northwest, forest workers are hoping Labor Day weekend campers don’t follow the example of those negligent Squaw Creek campers.

“The worst thing we could have right now is some man-caused fires,” said Mike Dannenburg, the Idaho Department of Lands fire dispatcher. “We just don’t need any more.”

In Eastern Washington, campfires are banned from the national forests, state and private lands, except in developed campgrounds.

U.S. Forest Service officials signed the order at midnight Wednesday.

“There’s a lot of people (camping) out there already,” said Colville National Forest spokesperson Cynthia Reichelt. “We have to post this thing … Fire resources are really scarce. They’ve even got military out on some of those fires. We just can’t drag on that system.”

In Idaho, forest officials have stopped short of banning campfires, but they say dry conditions demand that everyone take precautions.

Anyone camping outside developed campgrounds should use propane or white gas stoves instead of campfires for cooking, fire officers advised.

However, if they do make a fire, campers should have a shovel and a water bucket handy, never leave the campfire unattended, keep campfires small and make sure they are cold before leaving camp.

Other human-caused fires are from children playing with fire, cigarette smokers flicking their butts into the grass and brush, debris burning and sparks flying from chain saws.

“Wood cutters need to make sure they have a spark arrester on their chain saw, and keep an eye on the area after they cut wood,” said Elayne Murphy, spokesperson for the Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests.

Most fires in Idaho’s national forests have been caused by lightning. About half the state land fires, however, were man-made.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Nez Perce and Clearwater national forests had 1,400 lightning strikes, which started 124 fires. More were reported Thursday, Murphy said.

The biggest fires are the Sunday Poet Fire, which has burned more than 250 acres, and the Swet-Warrior Fire, a 38,040-acre fire spanning the Idaho-Montana border.

Large portions of the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church River of No Return wilderness areas are closed to back-country travel because of the fires. The Magruder and Reynolds Lake roads are closed.

The rain that fell with Tuesday’s thunderstorms was spotty, and didn’t significantly reduce the fire hazard, fire officials said.

Most fire activity is in central and southern Idaho, including a 14,000-acre fire near Boise. A 68,500-acre fire is burning on the Idaho-Oregon border of Hells Canyon Recreation Area.

In Washington, Colville National Forest has no significant fires, but near Omak, more than 800 firefighters are battling a 15,000-acre wildfire.

A small wildfire burning in the Glacier Peak Wilderness area should not threaten the Pacific Crest Trail. At most, hikers could smell smoke from the 70-acre fire, according to the Forest Service.

Fire danger in Inland Northwest forests ranges from high to extremely high. The outlook for the weekend is for a chance of thundershowers, and increased fire activity, according to the Forest Service.

The National Weather Service is predicting cooler temperatures, however, which could help slow the spread of fires.

“We really want to get the message out to everyone to be especially careful,” said Mark Vore, Panhandle Forest fire coordinator.

He noted that lightning-caused fires start high on mountains and tend to burn uphill. Human-caused fires have the potential to cause more damage because they typically start low in a valley, then burn uphill.

While most of the fires now burning are coming under control, a lot depends on the weather.

“If the wind picks up, we’re going to be in trouble,” Dannenburg said.

, DataTimes MEMO: These 2 sidebars appeared with the story:

1. OPEN FIRES BANNED Most open fires have been banned on public and private forest land in northeastern Washington because of high wildfire danger. The U.S. Forest Service and the Washington Department of Natural Resources also announced firerelated restrictions Thursday on timber cutting in the region. Fires are allowed only in designated camping areas on forest land in Spokane, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Ferry, Okanogan counties and part of Lincoln County.

2. (This sidebar appeared in the Idaho edition only) FIRE TALLY Statewide, the Idaho Department of Lands has battled 212 fires that have consumed more than 3,000 acres. The Panhandle National Forests has had about 75 fires, but most have been small.