Fires already starting in Blaine County

After successfully extinguishing six grass fires in Blaine County in the past week, the Chinook Volunteer Fire Department is looking for some help with future fires.

“We got them out and everything worked well,” Blaine County Fire Warden and Chinook Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Kraig Hansen said, but added, “We just need more help.”

Five of the fires were less than one acre, with one fire caused by a swather burning 56 acres.

Hill and Liberty county officials report no fires so far this season.

Chouteau County reported one 30-acre fire July 4 caused by fireworks.

Blaine County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Haley Velk said Thursday that the six Blaine County fires spanned from Tuesday, July 3, to Tuesday of this week, with one starting from lightning.

Hansen and Velk said said five were apparently human-caused, with two small fires started on the north side of the BNSF Railway railroad tracks, two were caused by swathers harvesting hay and one was caused by a vehicle.

With six fires happening so close together this early in the fire season, the department is hoping it can get more help as the fire season progresses, Hansen said.

The Chinook Volunteer Fire Department has 18 firefighters for the upcoming fire season with the department responsible for responding an area of 2,040 square miles in the county.

The requirements for becoming a volunteer firefighter are having a minimum of 30 hours of training a year, attending at least half of the department’s monthly business meetings each year and answering at least 10 percent of the response calls.

The person becoming a firefighter and their spouse, if they are married, must agree to the requirements prior to becoming a volunteer, Hansen said.

“We always involve the spouse,” he said. “We want them to both agree to it.”

He added that people also can help by preventing fires.

“It’s starting to dry out,” Hansen said, and people need to be careful.

Some of the ways people can help prevent grass fires are to keep equipment well-maintained and making sure chains are picked up so they do not drag if someone if pulling a trailer. He said it is better for swathers to cut hay in the mornings before the day gets too hot and to always have something available to put out a fire if one starts.

On the U.S. Bureau of Land Management website’s fire prevention page, it says to never operate equipment that produces sparks near dry vegetation and to always clear workspaces. The work space should be cleared of flammables and the area should be larger if conditions are windy or dry, with a radius from 10 to 25 feet depending on the risk.

The BLM site added that people who are driving a trailer should make sure trailers are roadworthy. They should do a simple maintenance check to make sure tires are not worn and are properly inflated; the bearings and axles have been greased; chains are in place and not dragging and trailers are not overloaded.

The BLM site said vehicles are the cause of a significant amount of human-caused fires, and people should properly maintain their vehicles as well as act with caution when driving off road. When driving off-road or parking over dry grass, people should be cautious about their exhaust. In addition, off-road vehicles must have a spark arrestor and carry a shovel at least 24-inch-by-6-inch wide with a steel blade and a bucket, or some other container, of water.

“Be prepared — carry a shovel and a fire extinguisher in your vehicles,” the site said.

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U.S. Bureau of Land Management fire prevention web page: https://www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/get-involved/fire-prevention/.