REDUCED FIRE ACTIVITY ALLOWS SOME REHAB WORK TO BEGIN 

Moose Fire Camp, Columbia Falls, Mont. – The Moose Fire has been relatively quiet the past couple of days.  Light scattered rain is currently falling in the area.  Crews continue to make steady progress on containment, which has now reached 58%.  The fire encompasses about 71,000 acres.  However, not all the vegetation within this area is burned.  An irregular pattern of green islands of trees is interspersed across the landscape. 

In addition to constructing fireline, some crews have also begun the task of rehabilitating those sections of fireline that are now cold.  Firefighters call this suppression rehab.  This involves activities such as smoothing out dozer lines, installing water bars, and placing slash and spreading grass seed and fertilizer on firelines to reduce erosion.  About thirty miles of interior fireline have already been rehabbed.

Resources assigned to the fire include 631 personnel; 16 crews, 6 helicopters, 23 engines, 6 excavators, 2 skidders, and 6 water tenders.

For more information call the Fire Information Center at 892-8970 or 892-9053.  Up-to-date information, current fire perimeter maps and photos are available on the Moose Fire web site at http://206.129.89.60/moose. 

The Flathead National Forest continues to offer bus tours of the fire area. For additional information contact the Flathead National Forest at 758-5204 or 758-5208.

# # #