THOMPSON FALLS - Sanders County will be moving into Stage I fire restrictions beginning on Monday, August 15.
Sanders County commissioners made the decision "in consideration of increasingly dangerous wildfire conditions."
The restrictions will be in place until further notice.
Stage I fire restrictions allow campfires in approved campgrounds only and limit individual smoking to enclosed vehicles or cleared areas.
Under Stage I fire restrictions, the following acts are prohibited until further notice:
- Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire unless noted in the exemptions below.
- Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
- Operating motor vehicles off designated roads and trails.
Stage I exemptions:
- Persons with a written permit that specifically authorizes the otherwise prohibited act.
- Persons using a fire fueled solely by liquid petroleum or LPG that can be turned on and off.
- Persons conducting activities in those designated areas where the activity is specifically authorized by written posted notice.
- Any Federal, State, or local officer or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty.
- Other exemptions unique to each agency/tribe.
- All land within a city boundary is exempted.
Additional information about fire restrictions across Montana can be found at https://www.mtfireinfo.org/.
