Stage 1 Fire Restrictions In Effect at 12:01 a.m. July 8

Dangerous fire conditions have prompted Stillwater County authorities to impose Stage 1 Fire Restrictions that go into effect at 12:01 a.m. July 8, Thursday.
Prohibited under Stage 1 Fire Restrictions are the following:
•Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire except within a developed recreational site, fire ring or improved site.
•Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren and cleared of all flammable materials.
Exemptions from Stage 1 Restrictions are as follows:
•Using a fire solely fueled by liquid petroleum or LPG that can be turned on and off. Such devices can only be used in an area that is barren and cleared of all flammable materials.
•Any federal, state or local officer or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force within a city boundary (Columbus is exempt).
•All land within a city boundary.
•Other exemptions unique to each agency.

The restrictions were enacted through a Stillwater County Commission resolution upon the request of the county Fire Warden and fire chiefs of local fire departments based on current conditions. Stillwater County works with the Billings Area Restrictions Group, represented by the Custer National Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Park Service, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the counties of Stillwater, Big Horn, Yellowstone, Carbon, Sweet Grass, Treasure and MusselShell.