Western wildfires often battled in the front yard

As more homes are built near national forest areas, they are sustaining more damage from wildfires

August 18, 2000
Web posted at: 3:50 PM EDT (1950 GMT)

By From Rick Lockridge
CNN Science Correspondent

DARBY, Montana (CNN) -- As the wildfires continue to burn in Montana's Bitteroot Valley, nearly a quarter of a million acres of the Bitteroot National Forest have already burned and more than 50 homes have been destroyed.

Nearly 2,000 firefighters are battling the blazes and more are on the way. Although these are forest fires, crews often find themselves working in people's front yards. In recent years, thousands of families have built homes just outside the national forest.

Authorities call this meeting of residence and forest an "urban interface."

VIDEO CNN's Rusty Dornin talks to Montana residents whose homes are threatened by raging wildfires (August 16) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     GALLERY Click here for images of the wildfires     RESOURCES Click here to view the National Interagency Fire Center's map of large wildland fires Click here to view satellite images of the wildfires (NOAA Web site)     MESSAGE BOARD Nature's wrath

"This urban interface does not deal with large communities, but it deals with a lot of homes that are scattered and that makes it even more difficult, " said Sonny Lasalle with the U.S. Forest Service.

Helicopters have dropped thousands of buckets of water to keep flames away from homes and air tankers have made countless trips to coat structures with flame retardant. Twenty-man crews have been working around the clock digging fire lines and lighting backfires, to create a barrier between the blazes and the houses.

"Most of the resources this past week have gone to the structure protection. We've lost some structures in the incident but we've saved quite a few more than we've lost," according to Bob Summerfield, a fire information officer with the U.S. Forest Service.

"We've had engines and crews out putting the bulk of their effort into taking measures around homes, building fire lines, setting up sprinkler systems and foaming houses to protect those structures," Summerfield said.

Hundreds of residents have been evacuated and special crews have moved in to try to protect the homes. But some houses nestled in the trees are impossible to protect. Firefighters say there are things people can do to make their homes more fire-resistant.

"The main thing is to get some vegetation away from your house, use building materials that are less fire prone and then have a little bit of a lawn. I know we all don't like to mow grass but have a little bit of lawn or a rock garden -- something that won't burn," said Fire Information Officer Bobby Kitchens.

Some residents hire profesional loggers to remove potentially hazardous trees near their homes

As the flames approach their neighborhoods, some residents have resorted to hiring professional loggers to cut the trees around the homes. They've learned a lesson from the less fortunate.

Darby Mayor Forest Hayes offered this insight: "Our forests are born in fire and they die in fire. Now we have homes that are back in areas that have for centuries have burned on a regular basis. This year we have a fire that's going to change the way people live in this valley. It's unfortunate, but that's the bottom line."

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August 18, 2000
U.S. wildfires burned more than 5 million acres so far this year
August 17, 2000
State of Montana declared disaster area as fires rage
August 16, 2000
Wildfires ignite forest management debate
August 16, 2000
Wildfires grow faster than supply of firefighters
August 15, 2000

GORP - Bitterroot National Forest
USDA Forest Service

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