Interagency wildland fire officials with the Missoula County Fire Protection Association have decided to keep fire danger within Missoula County at VERY HIGH.

Public Relations Specialist with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Jordan Koppen said Stage One Fire restrictions also remain in place.

"We've had some moisture, but we're starting to heat up again," Koppen said. "We want the public to know that we are still in pretty severe conditions. We're having some problems with people who think it's OK to have unauthorized campfires, but they're not at this time."

Koppen said he and all wildland firefighters want to thank he city and county for the fireworks ban over the Fourth of July holiday, in that the restrictions allowed them to concentrate on the few lightning caused fires that occurred during the recent heat wave.

"We have been very, very lucky so far in this still very young fire season," he said. "It was great to see the community come together and recognize the danger of fireworks with the extremely hot and dry conditions, so a big shout out to the community to not have the extra problem of human-caused fires."

Koppen passed along a personal message from all members of the Missoula County Fire Protection Association;

"On behalf of MCFPA, we would like to thank the communities in and around Missoula County for cooperating with us in regards to the number of human caused fires we’ve had up to date. We are currently in the middle of what is a long and hot wildfire season. We urge the public to keep doing their part and take the necessary precautions to avoid human caused fires.Missoula County residents need to know that our wildland firefighters face a long, arduous fire season even without having to respond to human-caused fires. The more careful we are with fire, the less danger our first responders will face. We are very appreciative of the community coming together as a whole and taking action to not put others in harm’s way. Thank-you!"

 

 

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