Teton County Fire Warden Ben Rhodes on Tuesday announced that open burning will be banned in Teton county starting at noon on July 4.
Rhodes said the continued drought is causing fine fuels like grasses to cure early and dry conditions make fire danger a significant threat for those recreating and working outdoors this summer.
Fairfield and Choteau volunteer fire departments on June 30 responded to a haystack fire off County Line Road on First Lane Southeast of Fairfield.
Fairfield Fire Chief Nick Dale said the call came in at 4:36 p.m. and given response was slow on the first page by the Fairfield department, Choteau was also paged.
The fire was in a straw pile located on land owned by McInerney Farms. Both Dale and Rhodes said the fire was started by a spark from a burn pit located close by. The land owners were clearing up debris from the area and