SWAN LAKE - The Swan Lake Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest is planning to conduct a prescribed fire in and adjacent to the Mission Mountains Wilderness west of Lindbergh Lake along Lindy Ridge when weather, fuel conditions and air quality become favorable. Smoke will be visible in the Swan Valley along the Highway 83 corridor as far south as Seeley Lake and as far north as Swan Lake.
The objective of the prescribed fire is to treat 1,104 acres in and adjacent to the Mission Mountains Wilderness to reduce crown fire potential, decrease flame lengths and decrease spotting distance and, therefore, increase the probability that a natural ignition would stay within the wilderness boundary and fire could play its natural role on the landscape.
The use of prescribed fire will target and reduce dead and down fuels, as well as cause mortality in understory trees and patches of overstory trees. It will also kill the above-ground portion of shrubs and forbs. The resulting vegetation in the timber-dominated areas should be a more open condition with fewer ladder fuels and surface fuels.
This project will be in compliance with Montana air quality standards and coordinated with Montana State Department of Environmental Quality to reduce the impacts of smoke to our neighbors, cooperators, and surrounding communities.
For public safety, there will be an area closure associated with the Lindy Ridge Prescribed Fire Operations. This will include the Crystal Lake North Trailhead at Bunyan Lake, parts of the Mission Mountains Wilderness, and both trails 351 and 490.
For additional information about these projects contact the Swan Lake Ranger District in Bigfork at 406-837-7500.
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