Montana’s Seeley Lake Area: High Risk Fire Zone
Monday, September 28, 2009
SEELEY LAKE, Mont. - Being a good neighbor may be the key to preventing some catastrophic wildfires. That's the thought from local fire experts who laud work being done on private property in the Seeley Lake area, and recommend additional work they would like to see completed on nearby federal land.
Seeley Lake Rural Fire Department Fire Chief Frank Maradeo, the president of the Missoula County Fire Protection Association, is one of several local firefighters who has been working to help private property owners come up with plans to thin out dead trees and highly flammable underbrush.
"If the private landowners can take it amongst themselves to go out and do their own property, then the Forest Service and the state should recognize that and try to do the best they can."
Tester's "Forest Jobs and Recreation Act" does contain provisions to treat nearby federal land to lower fire risks. Some critics say timber harvests would be carried out in sensitive areas in the name of fire prevention and would damage wildlife habitats.
While this year's fire season has been mild, Maradeo says the fire risks of continuing drought and the 2007 Jocko Lakes fire should encourage action to work now on private property and nearby federal and state lands to limit future damage. The Jocko Lakes fire destroyed several homes.
"When they come along with funding or timber sales, they try to get that right along the boundaries of the urban interface."
The public meeting on Tester's bill will be held at 9:30 a.m. today at the Gallatin County Courthouse.
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