Bitterroot National Forest

1801 N. 1st Street, Hamilton, MT 59840 (406) 363-7100

NEWS RELEASE
__________________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tod McKay
Public Affairs Officer
(406) 363-7122
(406) 531-1130 - CELL
tgmckay@fs.fed.us
October 6, 2010

PUBLIC INVITED TO COMMENT ON PRESCRIBED BURN PLANS

Hamilton, MT. – The Sula Ranger District on the Bitterroot National Forest is beginning the analysis of
prescribing maintenance burns in the Cameron-Blue project area. The project area is approximately 12,000
acres east of French Basin between the North Fork of Rye Creek and the East Fork of the Bitterroot River. The
area was previously burned in the Sleeping Child Fire and the fires in 2000.

The purpose of the prescribed fires is to maintain the natural fire frequency and fuel loads that are typical for the
Forest in this area. The fire frequency on the lower elevation (ponderosa pine habitats) that burned in 2000 is
up to 10 years. In the higher elevation (lodgepole pine habitats) the fire interval is between 35 and 100 years. It
has been almost 50 years since the Sleeping Child Fire.

Forest Service roads make up most of the prescribed fire perimeter and define the project area. The boundary
roads are: 5778, 5780, 5786, 75, 1398, 1397, 13304, 73167, 311, and 723. Short segments of handline would
need to be constructed between roads that cross the National Forest and State land boundary. Plans call for the
project area to be divided into three units to be burned individually. The Forest Service anticipates the project
would take two to ten years to complete, depending on the burning windows. However, if the burning windows
are available within one season and the field preparations are complete, the burns could be accomplished in that
season. The anticipated start date of the project is not until fall, 2012.

Field preparation would include creating a “blackline” next to the fire perimeter by thinning and pruning dense
fuels and burning them before igniting the main fire. A blackline is a previously burned area adjacent to the fire
perimeter. Removing fuels next to the perimeter prevents high fire intensity and prevents the fire from burning
outside the perimeter.

Field preparation also would include piling and burning slash adjacent to large snags and trees, and sensitive
resource areas. Hand crews would burn the piles and thinning slash adjacent to the fire perimeter and the main
fire would be ignited using a helicopter. The helicopter ignitions and most of the pile burning would occur in
the fall, though pile burns could also occur during spring, depending on the burning window. Most of the burn
would be a low intensity fire, especially in the area that burned in 2000, but moderate intensities would occur in
the higher density lodgepole pine forest. The helicopter would largely ignite the ridges so the fire would burn
down the slopes.
The Bitterroot National Forest is accepting comments on this project proposal as they work through the analysis
process. Your comments would be most helpful to the analysis if they are received by October 22, 2010.
If you would like more information on the project, contact Sara Grove at (406) 821-1251 or David Fox at (406)
821-2331. Please send written comments to Sara Grove, West Fork Ranger District, 6735 West Fork Rd.,
Darby, MT 59829 or electronically to comments-northern-bitterroot-sula@fs.fed.us. Please be sure to write
“Cameron-Blue – Comments” in the e-mail subject line. Acceptable electronic formats include Microsoft
Word, ASCII text, HTML, Rich Text, or PDF.
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