Fourteen firefighters and a helicopter are working a wildfire burning about 2.5 miles northeast of Arlee this evening.
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal fire spokesman CT Camel says the 145-acre Rhebein Fire started Tuesday when a homeowner’s routine debris burn got out of control.
“It’s burning in grass and timber – that’s what he was burning, he was burning some grass and debris. No structures are threatened at this time. The local Type III incident Management Team from the CSKT Division of Fire is taking care of the fire right now.”
Even though wildfire season is officially over, Camel says fire still presents a risk.
“It’s been really dry. We encourage people to be safe when they’re doing their little burns around their houses. Make sure you have enough people and equipment in case a problem does come up and notify the proper authorities when you’re burning.”
Camel says firefighters should have the Arlee-area fire buttoned up by this weekend.
