Authors of articles will be put into a drawing for prizes that will be given out throughout the year. The drawing is open to everyone except the employees of the Outdoor Recreation Center. Use of this information is free for anybody who wants to drop by and browse. Come in and take a look at sample maps, you will be surprised by their accuracy. Regionally, there are big fires along the Idaho-Montana border and in the mountains east of McCall.
Smaller fires are everywhere.
Lightning has been the main culprit, this time, but several of the fires have been man-caused as well. One fire here in Washington, made famous on the national news, was caused by a grasshopper incinerating itself on an electric fence. The point of all this is we must all recognize the severe and extraordinarily high danger level that our backcountry areas have for fires right now. The woods and grasslands are tinder dry and literally one small spark can set off fires. With so many natural aspects adding to the fire danger, it is absolutely vital that we humans don't make the problem any worse by careless or accidental actions that cause fires to begin.