Fire in the Missions: a look at the cultural and social implications

By Roian Matt, CS&KT Forestry Educational Outreach Coordinator

RONAN -- It's not easy to look at the Mission Mountain Wilderness without being reminded of our grandparents. As smoke billowed last week from the Ashley Lake drainage, Tony Incashola, Sr. recalled a pilgrimage with his grandmother in the 1960's to the furry mountainside.

Eager to revisit one of the few traditional gathering places of huckleberries and other medicinal plants, the party saddled up the horses and proceeded on their outing. The excitement of the journey soon changed. Tony remembers his grandmother becoming disoriented during the trip, because the traditional trail was overgrown. Where there was once a path large enough for sizeable animals, only remnants of a trail suitable for small creatures remained.

Now, about 40 years later, these conditions have worsened. Tony relates, "The forest historically burned periodically. But, what we have now is instead of letting nature take care of itself and learning from nature, we have controlled nature by suppressing fire. And the fear [of fire] in today's people is a result of that."

Although forest management and cultural perspectives collided in the past, they have ultimately come to agree that the people and the land have evolved with fire. And, the fire suppression activity over the last 60 years in our forests has not permitted nature to regenerate resources the way it should.

On the night of August 8, a lightning-caused fire acted as a catalyst for community response in the Mission Valley. Following initial investigation, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' (CS&KT) Division of Fire determined that the Ashley Lake Fire was a natural event in the Wilderness area, but due to steep and rocky terrain, extreme safety hazards prevented firefighters from manning the fire.

As a result of the Wildland Fire Situation Analysis (WFSA), a procedure which assesses fuel conditions, topography, current and forecasted weather, and National and Regional Fire Preparedness and Resource Availability, fire management officials opted to monitor the fire until it spread to safer fire fighting ground. The pending adoption of the new Fire Management Plan and current policies within the Mission Mountain Wilderness Management Plan allow for fires to burn in the wilderness for resource benefit under certain circumstances.

As drying conditions continued and the wind picked up, the fire took off. Officials at the Division of Fire requested a Fire Use Management Team. Due to substantial fires currently burning throughout the state of Montana and the rest of the nation, this type of fire management team was unavailable, and the Flathead Agency was forced to assemble a Type 3 Management Organization. This team developed containment strategies. These strategies were based on trigger points. If the fire reached a certain trigger point, then this would sanction a series of reactions.

According to Tony Harwood, the CS&KT Fire Management Officer, "This is a true local effort. This effort involves volunteer firefighters, local wildland firefighters, and local fire equipment." Other local organizers include, Jolene Jacobson from the Emergency Disaster Services and Steve Stanley from the Office of Emergency Services.

As the Mission Valley became increasingly filled with smoke, adjacent landowners became concerned. Perhaps in disbelief that the Mission Mountains were burning right before their eyes, a sight we rarely see, many other Reservation citizens began to question forest management decisions. The Flathead Indian Reservation Forest Management Plan focuses on ecosystem management. Ecosystem management requires the Tribes to take into account cultural and social issues when managing forest lands.

The Mission Mountains is a very spiritual place for Salish and Kootenai people. For Indian people of the area, artifacts and traditional spiritual places are as important to protect as people's homes. In order to ensure that bulldozer lines and fire containment lines do not interfere with cultural sites, Wain Lefthand, from Tribal Preservation, was on hand to conduct cultural assessments to assist in minimizing impacts on cultural areas.

Additionally, while understanding the community's fear of fire and in order to dispel any uncertainties about the fire and its possible effects, the Fire Prevention and Education Program assembled an information center along a county road near the fire. This opportunity has allowed local landowners and other concerned parties a chance to express and alleviate their concerns.

Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), where forest and people reside together in one area, is an issue that often arises in fire suppression discussions. Division of Fire worked with landowners near the fire on creating defensible space. Although the fire team had some work, the landowners did a decent job, beforehand, of protecting their property from catastrophic wildfire.

According to fire officials, the Ashley Lake Fire is mostly a backing fire. The fire is burning in a natural mosaic fire pattern and is not burning too hot. This fire will offer an opportunity to clean up the forest's under-story.

Devlin LaFrombois, Fire Prevention Technician reports that overall, public comment on the fire burning in the Mission Mountain Wilderness is favorable. After people educate themselves and gain an understanding of fire and its role in nature, their curiosities and concerns are appeased.

Tony Incashola, reiterates this sentiment: "This is a good example of how nature can take care of itself."