BUTTE — This recent blast of winter weather certainly put a damper on wildfires in Southwest Montana, but forest officials warn when it comes to wildfire season, we’re not out of the woods yet.
“Well, we can certainly breathe a little, but no, as we’ve said, (it's not) the end of the fire season just yet,” said Catherine McRae with the U.S. Forest Service.
With rifle season starting up there will be more hunters in the woods and forest officials are reminding them to take caution with campfires and be sure to put them out, because they could spark a wildfire.
“You have to douse and stir, douse and stir, douse and stir and then check that it’s cold to the touch,” said McRae.
The forest service wants to remind hunters that this time last year in one day several small wildfires broke out due to unattended campfires.
“One day we had 31 new fires started and those were largely attributed to escaped warming fires, and for the same reason we’re seeing when it’s colder and we see a little moisture on the ground the assumption is that those fires will self-extinguish and they won’t,” said McRae.
