What's with the smoke lately?

If you’ve noticed a bit of smoke in the air, there’s a chance it’s from controlled burns performed by the Colville Tribes.

Acting “fuels manager” for the Colville Tribes, John Elliott explained in a phone call to The Star that the burns should be finished before Thanksgiving.

“At that time it’s usually getting too cold to have a lot of success burning,” Elliott said. “At the moment we’re probably about half done with what we’re trying to do in the fall.”

Elliott said that they are burning some slash piles that were thinned out by loggers. And some burning reduces fuels near structures. They’ve recently done burns near Inchelium and the SanPoil Valley, and this coming weekend will start nearer to Omak on piles leftover from logging.

A prescribed burn near Owhi Lake coming up may be one that people will notice, Elliott said.

More information can be obtained by calling the Mt. Tolman Fire Center at 509-634-3100.