Posted on 03/04/2005 6:16:25 PM PST by NormsRevenge
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Montana is at such high risk for a wildfire "blowup" this summer that Gov. Brian Schweitzer wants at least some of the 1,500 National Guard soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere to return home for the wildfire season.
The governor warned Friday the state is like a powder keg because of persistent drought, a shortage of mountain snow and forests full of dry timber.
"I know it's going to be a bad fire year," he said, adding he anticipates a repeat of the 1988 season when 4,122 fires charred 2.2 million acres in the Northern Rockies, including about 793,000 acres in Yellowstone National Park.
"Somebody's going to have a blowup," Schweitzer said in an interview. "Is it northern Idaho, is it eastern Washington or is it Montana?"
The governor has asked the Pentagon to return some of the Montana National Guard troops and aircraft called to active duty. He also plans to ask leaders in Idaho, Washington, Saskatchewan and Alberta to commit manpower and machines to fight the anticipated wildfires.
Montana Guard spokesman Maj. Scott Smith said about 2,000 soldiers, often called on to supplement fire crews each summer, remain in the state.
But 10 of the state's 12 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, each capable of carrying a 600-gallon water bucket or 11 firefighters, are not back from Iraq, he said.
The Guard has three larger CH-47 Chinook helicopters able to haul 2,000 gallons of water apiece, but lacks enough flight engineers to operate them all, Smith said.
Smith said he was not sure whether Guard members would be returned to the state at Schweitzer's request; a federal mission typically takes precedence over state authority, he noted.
To be honest, sounds pretty good. Its been so dry here in south central and up in the north western area of the state its scary. I'm still holding out hope that it will snow pretty heavily at the end of the month though. After last years nice little (ignored) burn through Glacier National Park, I don't want anything to go poof this year or for them to close off all the forests from ATV use.
I expect the Selway wilderness to go up like a torch this year. Used to live there, and from what friends tell me there has been next to zero snow. Add the fact that the Forest Service STILL hasn't cut loose much timber (damned Clinton appointees...won't even let the loggers take salvage) and you could be easily looking at a 1,000,000 plus acre fire.
I notice the article did not refer to his party affiliation. After noticing the implied "It's all Bush's fault" I bet myself he's Dem. Sure nuff.
what do you think?
It was in Nebraska, Brian.
But they have it under control now.
Well the sad thing is he is right (unfortunately). Due to horrible forest management and this winter being so dry here--the most snow at one time we've had this winter in South-central is like 3-5 inches and it would basically melt in a day--that something is going to burn. My brother has only been able to go snowmobiling twice this winter, more than my none. All I can say is, let it go up in flames so we can see the environuts try to explain why we should keep preventing wide spread logging and all the burned trees can then dry out and rot away leaving an ugly mess for years.
The environuts would. as a rule, rather see the soil sterilized by a hot fire than a logging company make one toothpick...
just on the general principles of it.
Not surprising....The Flathead valley is well below normal for precip and above normal temps right now....add to that the USFS being kept from logging by the envirowackos and the Park Circus never allowing even the snags from the bad fires at GLAC to be removed
The fires at GLAC being as bad as they have been are the result of the idiotd that run the Park Circus and the Department of the Interior.....losers all!
You have to listen to those idiots at GLAC yakking as if fires are soooooooooo Wonderful! (/scarcasm)
see my post---you are RIGHT ON the mark!
farm ping please!
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) along the Minnesota-Canada border is a tinderbox in waiting.
There was a terrible storm that passed thru the area several years ago that took down a lot of timber.
Luckily, we've had some very snowy winters and summers that were just wet enough to prevent a massive fire from starting.
When it does happen, it'll be huge and we'll have little ability to do much but protect some personal property and towns along the fringes of the BWCA.
I hope Montana has one very wet spring.
Beat ya to it. LOL! Thanks for the heads up though. I would miss most of these articles if it wasn't for people pinging me first.
I am very aware of what goes on...hubby works for the FS...and I get to hear about lawsuit after lawsuit and delay tactic after delay tactic, and see how the fs's hands get tied by rules, and then everybody cries about the fire damage...
There's hardly any lumbering left, and very few mills to process it for FS lumber any more...and it's because of all the lawsuits. Even when it's necessary for the safety of an area or the health of the forest, it's fought tooth and nail.
It's gotten better since Bush, but its still a broken system beause of the non-scientific biases of the environuts and the judges that love them, instead of rational guys.
Drought maps and forecasts.
http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/index.htm
http://drought.unl.edu/dm/forecast.html
I wonder that perhaps your best place to lobby this is Cheney's office. Anything on that?
BTT!!!!!
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