HELENA — Wednesday was a busy day for fire services: putting out wildfires and managing prescribed burns in and surrounding the greater Helena area.
"By adding fire back on the land, we can allow the fire to do its natural processes," said US Forest Service spokesperson Chiara Cipriano. "It helps open seeds. It creates forage for animals. It gives our firefighters a chance to intervene when there are severe wildfires near communities."
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The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest had prescribed burns in Elk Smith southwest of Augusta and Cabin Gulch near Helena.
The Cabin Gulch prescribed burn created a large plume of smoke that led to some concerns within the community.
"We have a nice black perimeter around it. We have all kinds of water engines, people with bladder bags walking around, and other contingency resources. You wouldn't know that if you're just watching it from town," Cipriano said.
The U.S. Forest Service says prescribed burns are typically between 50 to 75 acres.
The total size of the Cabin Gulch prescribed burn is 1,500 acres, with roughly 1,000 acres completed on Wednesday and another estimated 500 to 600 on Thursday.
"There were a lot of interior fuels, ground fuels, that would otherwise pose a real risk in the summer that were consumed by this prescribed fire," said Cipriano.
According to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the tri-county area saw four wildfires on Wednesday.
The Ferrett Road, Shaman, and Deadman's Fires were all in Lewis and Clark County, while the Silvertip Fire was in Jefferson County.
All were escaped debris fires that started on private property.
"[For] someone who's working to clean up brush, tree limbs, or woody debris around their property – burning can be an effective way to reduce that fuel load," said Wyatt Frampton, DNRC deputy state forester, "If you do decide to do that, it's very important that you are aware of the weather conditions as well as the fire danger in the area."
The Deadman and Silvertip Fires are controlled while the Ferret Road and Shaman Fires are out.
In total, the wildfires burned over 245 acres of land.
"In a typical wildfire season, up to 70% of the wildfires we see in Montana are human-caused, with debris burns to be one of the leading causes of those fires," Frampton said.
If you wonder if the smoke you see is prescribed or if it is a wildfire, the Forest Service recommends visiting mtfireinfo.org.
Another good resource is the mobile app and website Watch Duty.
People are also encouraged to report any unknown fire to emergency services.
The Forest Service expects smoke from the prescribed burns to be visible through the weekend and possibly into early next week.
Since the beginning of the year through March 26, the Forest Service has burned 2,700 acres.
