Burnings In Spokane County Stalled Winds Not Favorable On Rathdrum Prairie, Most Spokane County Farmers Not Ready

Although grass burning has started in the Columbia Basin and in Idaho, Spokane County farmers haven’t torched their fields yet.

“Most of the farmers in south Spokane County aren’t ready,” said Bob Quinn, meteorologist for the Intermountain Grass Growers Association.

A few hundred acres could be burned this week if winds are favorable, Quinn said.

His Rockford station sends up a weather balloon every hour to check the winds and relays the information to the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority.

Although SCAPCA no longer has the power to set a grass-burning season, the agency has the authority to approve or deny field burning based on which way the winds are blowing.

Growers can’t burn on days when winds are blowing toward Spokane.

As of Tuesday, the winds were unfavorable for the few Spokane County growers who are ready to torch their fields, said Mabel Caine of SCAPCA.

In Idaho, meanwhile, burning has only taken place on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation. Growers torched about 500 acres near Tensed on Monday, and about 200 acres on Tuesday.

Rathdrum Prairie growers have not been able to burn any fields because of wind conditions. Once burning begins on the prairie, growers will be allowed to torch fields for a total of 15 days over a 45-day period.

Washington growers are in the second year of a gradual state phaseout of field burning.

In March 1996, the Washington Department of Ecology adopted a rule cutting bluegrass field burning by 33 percent, followed by another 33 percent this year.

The practice will be phased out when an economical and practical alternative to field burning can be certified.

About 33,078 acres of bluegrass were in production in Spokane County as of May 1, 1996 - the base-line acreage for the phaseout.

A total of 11,026 acres can be burned this year, plus another 5 percent on steep slopes, for a maximum of 12,680 acres in Spokane County.

Only 6,198 acres are permitted for burning so far, but it’s still early in the burning season, Caine said.

“We still have quite a few permits still to come in,” she said.

SCAPCA must return the burn permits to growers within seven days of application.

, DataTimes MEMO: Cut in Spokane edition This sidebar appeared with the story: IDAHO BURNING Growers on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation torched about 500 acres near Tensed on Monday, and about 200 acres on Tuesday. Rathdrum Prairie growers have not been able to burn any fields because of wind conditions.

The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Karen Dorn Steele Staff writer Staff writer Ken Olsen contributed to this report.