Marty’s photos of the day #4388-4389: Last week featured a couple of outdoor adventures for Deb, Nellie, and me. Early in the week we had to dodge a charging moose, and yesterday we put out a forest fire.
One of the advantages of being “a local” in Montana is that even when the tourists arrive for the summer, we still know where to go where we will see no one all day. Yesterday we headed to the mountains along the West Fork (near Sula) and hiked an old logging road. There we came across a fire beside the road. Earlier this spring, the U.S. Forest Service did some prescribed burning and didn’t put everything out.
The fire was burning next to a big tree, after apparently burning underground for a week or more before working its way to the surface. And it was more than just smoke. There were actual flames! So our timing was fortunate.
With Nellie supervising, Deb and I used our boots and a big stick to cover the fire with dirt and later we stopped by a U.S. Forest Service Ranger Station to report the fire. They were quite happy we put out the fire and sent a ranger out there with water to make absolutely sure the fire didn’t start up again.
Photos:
1) Deb Essen―“Lady Fire Fighter.”
2) Our picnic on the mountaintop