Wednesday Sept. 12th 7:00 AM Update-- Many Areas Remain Open
Incident: Jocko Lakes Wildland Fire
Released: 9/12/2007
As rehab work continues on the Jocko Lakes fire, lots of public lands remain open for nearby hunters and recreationists. All lands are open north of the area, such as Owl Creek, Morrell Creek, and Pyramid Pass. West of the valley, all lands are open north of the Lake Elsina Road; and roads are also open to Hidden Lake, Spook Lake, and Double Arrow Lookout. To the east, Dunham, Monture, and McCabe Creek trailheads, and many others, are open.
In general, people have all sorts of good places to visit and hunt near Seeley Lake this fall. However, lands directly within the fire remain closed to protect public safety. The Jocko-Arlee Road will remain closed until firefighters are closer to finishing their work of rehabilitating firelines.
Stage 2 Fire restrictions remain in effect across western Montana, which has received almost no rain in several weeks of hotter than average weather. Dry grass is flammable all over. Any open flame is still prohibited, except for gas stoves. Smoking is still prohibited outdoors, except in areas cleared of all burnable materials. Chainsaw use is prohibited from 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. daily. People in the woods should patrol for sparks and smoke for a few hours after using power equipment.
A frightening fire such as Jocko Lakes provides an opportunity to reflect. Many Seeley Lake area residents had to leave their homes for two weeks, and many got new perspectives on the power of Nature to change daily life. Now the community wants to learn what it can do differently to avoid wildland fire trauma in the future. Large fires are not going to go away; instead, people's behavior will have to change.
A good answer is for residents to work together to develop a "firewise" community. Homes built with defensible space around them, cleared of burnable materials, are more likely to survive the next threatening fire.
More advice and suggestions come from the Seeley Lake Fire Department at 677-2400, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation at 542-4321, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes at 676-2550, or Seeley Lake Ranger District at 677-3908. More information related to the Jocko Lakes fire is at http://inciweb.org/incident/904/.
WEATHER: Northwest 15 to 25 mph winds return Wednesday under party sunny skies, with high temperatures in the 70's. Only a 10% chance of wetting rain exists into the weekend.
