Whitefish City Council voted unanimously at its meeting last week to enact an emergency ordinance continuing the stage 2 fire restrictions.

According to Interim Fire Chief Travis Tveidt’s report, Whitefish is experiencing unusually hot and dry conditions that have elevated the fire danger to extreme. The heat and dry fuels create a condition ideal for quick-catching and fast spreading wildfires.

County commissioners voted to enact stage 2 fire restrictions starting Aug. 5.

“The changes in Stage I to Stage II happened very, very quickly over the past two weeks, so we’re already at Stage II,” said City Manager Dana Smith, who presented the report due to Tveildt’s absence.

Under Stage II, campfires of any kind are prohibited everywhere. Some activities are prohibited from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m., including logging, clearing operations, firewood cutting, outdoor welding and using explosives. Operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails is also prohibited.

Smoking can only occur within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least 3 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material.

“We do not allow the discarding of smoking materials outdoors because that is one of our highest risks when you’re within city limits,” Smith said.

The city closed the Reservoir trailhead of the Whitefish Trail to avoid confusion with the F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. which closed its land to public access due to elevated fire danger.

THE COUNCIL also voted unanimously to annex and rezone a piece of property at 236 Jennings Lakeside Road. The property is 1.36 acres in size.

“The growth policy identifies this area as suburban residential and so WSR is a comparable zone for that land use designation and is comparable to the county R1,” said Whitefish Senior Planner Wendy Compton-Ring.

Staff recommended the annexation and zone change for this parcel, there was no public comment or questions from the council.

DURING PUBLIC comment, Jake Persinger with Republic Services reported that the company would receive the last load of the animal-resistant trash bins and would start delivering the bins on Aug. 28. The goal is to complete delivery by Sept. 1.

He said there were a couple things that impact his ability to service customers regularly.

“On the residential side, the new bear-proof carts, there are a lot of them in the alleys. Spacing, four feet apart and four feet away from obstacles is a huge thing for us,” Persinger said. “On the commercial side, vehicles blocking access to containers (is problematic).”

He added that the new carts add some time to the company’s routes but overall, the pick-up schedule is going well, even with many carts in the alleys.