Montana Fires
Woodchuck Fire Grows to 950 Acres, Second Building Confirmed Burned
The Woodchuck Fire, burning northeast of Florence had grown to 950 acres by Thursday night and fire officials confirmed that a second structure had been destroyed in the blaze.
There was no information yet on what kind of building it was or when it burned. The fire had already destroyed one home when it first ignited on Tuesday. It is now burning in steep terrain and heavy timber in the Woodchuck Canyon area 12 miles south Missoula. It is listed as 40 percent contained and crews were trying to "really punch in a lot of line" before winds pick up again this weekend, said fire information officer Jamie Kirby.
Firefighters have a pretty solid containment line around the north and northwest sides of the fire where it is closest to the some 24 threatened homes -- 12 evacuated -- in the upper Woodchuck area and the big priority for crews Thursday through the night was was to continue to do mop up and secure those lines. The calmer winds and weather Thursday should help them out. "One good shift and we hope to get that thing knocked down," said fire information officer Ted Pettis. Update: Some of the evacuated residents will be allowed back into their homes Friday morning, starting at 10 a.m.
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Wrapping Up
Packer Gulch Fire Cools, Kim Williams Fire ContainedCrews are expecting to wrap up the Packer Gulch Fire, burning about 35 miles East of Missoula near Garnet Ghost Town by Friday afternoon, said fire information officer Wayne Johnson.
Lines are secured almost all the way around the fire with the exception of the north flank, where crews are working to stop flareups and better contain those lines. Winds did cause some flareups Tuesday, but firefighters were quick to control them. By Wednesday, the fire was mapped at 3,059 acres and 85 percent contained.
Meanwhile, the Type II team on Packer Gulch also declared the Kim Williams Fire near East Missoula 100 percent contained. Crews were patrolling and mopping up any hot spots within 130 feet inside the fire lines to make sure it doesn't flare up. The Kim Wiliams Trail has been opened near that fire. Near the Packer Gulch fire, the Bear Gulch Road and the Garnet Ghost Town road are both still closed, but Garnet is still accessible from Highway 200 to the north.
Firefighters and resources are starting to dwindle at the two blazes as they shift over to the large fires in the Bitterroot Valley -- one near Victor and the other a quick-growing blaze that destroyed a home last night near Florence.
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Rumors
Cheney Expected to Visit Flathead for Burns FundraiserThe Daily Inter Lake reported today that Vice President Dick Cheney will likely be visiting the Flathead Valley for a Conrad Burns fundraiser, although Cheney Spokeswoman Jenny Mayfield neither confirmed nor denied the VP's visit.
The Inter Lake reports that the fundraiser would take place August 16, although place and time were not given. There is no mention of a Flathead Burns fundraiser on Burns' website.
Possible locations of a Burns fundraiser? With Cheney in the mix, it may be possible that Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar, a part-time Whitefish resident, is involved in the event. Lesar and his wife, Sherry, donated $500,000 toward the construction of Whitefish's new North Valley Hospital.
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New Starts
Fire Near Victor Grows to 200 Acres, Lightning Storm Starts New Fires in the Bitterroot
UPDATE: The fire that flared up Monday afternoon four miles west of Victor grew to about 200 acres Tuesday night while lightning started several new fires elsewhere on the Bitterroot National Forest.
The Gash Creek Fire was first reported Monday afternoon and by Tuesday morning, it was estimated at 50 acres. Today, one hot shot crew, two Type II crews, and three hand crews were fighting the fire with the help of five engines, two helicopters and two redardant tankers. A Type II team is scheduled to take over the fire by tomorrow. (Again for full description of team types, click here for our glossary). Fire officials were reporting winds of up to 15 miles per hour on the fire.
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The Campaign Trail
Tester Kicks Off Statewide Tour, Including Lunch Date with Missoula WednesdayU.S. Senate Candidate Jon Tester begins his five-day, statewide "Meet Montana's Main Street" tour today in Great Falls. He’ll be swinging through Missoula tomorrow for a couple events, including a stop at Missoula’s “Out to Lunch” at Caras Park with Mayor John Engen at noon.
“This is a great chance to listen to working Montanans during one of the most important times of the year to families across the state—the summer harvest,” Tester was quoted as saying on his website. “We already know Montanans are ready for change in Washington this November. This week, I look forward to talking to fellow farmers and workers across the state about the economy and how we must raise the standards for our leaders in Washington.”
Click here for Tester's complete schedule.
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Fire Update
Crews Focus on Dousing Hot Spots on Packer Gulch FireThe Packer Gulch Fire, burning at about 3,050 acres in the Bearmouth area near Drummond held pretty quiet Tuesday with crews focusing on just one hot corner left on the fire. By 7:30 p.m., the fire was 85 percent contained.
Firefighters have line all the way around the fire and the primary focus today was keeping on top of hot spots on the north/northeast corner of the fire.
The southern and southwestern corners of the fire -- where the 10 homes were threatened late last week (all evacuations were lifted this weekend) -- are holding really well, fire information officer Jill Cobb said, so some resources are being shuffled today from that division up to the north and northeastern divisions.
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New Starts
Kim Williams Fire Declared 100 Percent Contained
The Kim Williams #2 Fire burning between East Missoula and Bonner was declared 100 percent contained Tuesday afternoon. The final mapping for the fire was 11 acres.
Two hot shot crews, with the help of a very precise helicopter operator, got line all the way around the fire yesterday, just hours after it flared up along the Kim Williams Trail. The Idaho Panhandle Crew worked the east side of the fire all day while the crew from the Missoula Indian Center worked the west side and the two finally met with lines and hose yesterday afternoon. Now, they're in mop-up mode, meaning they're looking for hot spots, snags and leftover smokes. There's still no estimate on containment of the fire. UPDATE: All trails are now open on Sentinel and near the fire except the Kim Williams Trail. The Kim Williams is still closed.
Wayne Johnson, a spokesman on the fire said crews should be going into patrol mode by Wednesday.
Fire information officer Jill Cobb said the quick initial attack yesterday is what kept the fire from growing too quickly or costing a lot. "The amount of money that was saved on this fire..." was tremendous, she said.
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Nearing Containment
Packer Gulch Fire Near Drummond 80 Percent ContainedThe Packer Gulch fire near Garnet Ghost Town 35 miles east of Missoula was 80 percent contained by Monday evening.
Evacuations of the 10 or so homes on the west side of the fire were lifted yesterday and crews were able to go into full-scale mop up by this afternoon. Some remapping put the blaze at about 3,050 acres.
The human-caused fire broke out Tuesday near Garnet Ghost Town and burned one mobile home and two outbuildings in that first spark up. So far, it has cost nearly 2.1 million to fight, using more than 500 people, 26 engines, up to eight helicopters and air tankers when needed.
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Local Spotters
Helicopters “Just Practicing” For Fire Dumps On Lower Clark ForkMissoula County fire dispatch has been getting quite a few calls this morning about helicopters dipping water buckets on the lower Clark Fork along Big Flat Road south of town.
But, not to worry, says Kim at dispatch. "They're just practicing," she said. There are no fires nearby. Instead, a pilot is getting trained to go out on fires and taking a few practice runs near the confluence of the Bitterroot and the Clark Fork.
Kim said a few neighbors have requested since it's just practice -- could the pilot dump a little water on their lawns?
Wildland Fire
Fire East of Missoula Burns One Home, Swells to Almost 3,000 AcresFire officials confirmed Wednesday that the 2,900-acre Packer Gulch Fire 15 miles west of Drummond and 35 miles east of Missoula has burned one mobile home and two outbuildings.
Fire information officer Wayne Johnson said the property got caught in flames on Tuesday, the day the fire sparked up, during initial attack operations. It was a primary residence but the owner was living in the mobile home while building a house nearby, Johnson said.
Despite temperatures in the 100s Saturday afternoon, crews made good progress in lining the fire and by about 6:00 they had fire lines connected around the perimeter of the fire. "They're really hammering it hard," Johnson said.
Update: The containment was upped Sunday to 30 percent and the Type II team managing the fire was focusing on reinforcing lines around the fire and bracing for temperatures up to 103 degrees, winds and again, low humidity.
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