Grass fire burns 31 acres, multiple outbuildings
Matt Baldwin Daily Inter Lake | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 9 months AGO
Bone-dry fuels and a light wind fed a rapidly moving grass fire Tuesday evening that charred 31 acres and burned structures off KM Ranch Road south of Whitefish.
According to Lincoln Chute of the Flathead County Office of Emergency Services, the fire started when a debris burn pile got out of control. The fire damaged three outbuildings, a mobile home that was being used for storage, and one vehicle. No one was injured.
Fire crews were able to contain the fast-moving blaze before it reached any of the nearby homes off Spring Prairie Road.
Chute said grass in the valley hasn’t had a chance to green up this spring, so it’s as dry as if it were late fall. He said people need to be extra careful with burn piles right now because of the dry fuels.
“Even the slightest breeze, it will rapidly move away,” Chute said.
“People need to be extremely conscientious and be prepared for the worst.”
West Valley Fire and Rescue led the attack with assistance from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Evergreen Fire Rescue, South Kalispell Fire, Smith Valley Fire, Whitefish Fire and Flathead County Office of Emergency Services.
Chute said the firefighting effort was a perfect example of all the departments “working together as a unified force.”
ARTICLES BY MATT BALDWIN DAILY INTER LAKE
3 decades of surfing Big Mountain
Stumptown Snowboards owner Joe Tabor proudly displays his first snowboard on the back wall of the store in downtown Whitefish. He handcrafted the solid-wood, arrowhead-shaped behemoth as a young boy in a school shop class in 1982. Stickers are plastered on the nose of the board where a rope is attached for steering — no bindings or boots required.
Ski program introduces kids to the slopes
The 3 degree temperature matched the age of the eager skiers who gathered at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Wednesday morning for their weekly lesson with the Ski and Ride School’s Buckaroos program. The frigid weather wasn’t of much concern for the little ones. Plenty of hot laps and high fives — and maybe even a hot cocoa — were on tap for the day to keep them warm.
Another arctic punch on the way
As the saying goes, March will roar in like a lion as another arctic front bears down on the region, this time bringing the coldest temperatures of the season.