Missoula News

red flag warning saturday

Firefighters Gain More Ground on Jocko Lakes Fire

By Greg Lemon, 8-18-07

ABOVE: Map of the Jocko Lakes Fire as of Friday, August 17. Click image to enlarge. For a photo gallery of images from the Jocko Lakes Fire, click here. BELOW: Night shots from the Jocko Lakes Fire, by Mike Butteri, night shift division supervisor. Map and photos courtesy of the Alaska Type 1 Incident Management Team.

Crews on the Jocko Lakes Fire made good headway on strengthening the southeast corner of the fire Friday, said fire information office, Peter Buist.

Crews had dug indirect line on that portion of the line because of the thick fuels and steep terrain. On Friday, crews burned out the fuel between the fire line and the actual fire, eliminating fuel that could burn uncontrolled and spot over the line, Buist said.

“You go to a place where it’s logical to build line … and burn out from there,” he said.

The burning conditions remain the same, but without the winds and the added benefits of a dense smoky inversion, operations went well Friday.

“It’s always hot, dry and extreme. Unfortunately we’re getting used to that,” Buist said.

The fire is 20 percent contained and estimated at just more than 27,000 acres. More than 1,000 personnel were assigned to the fire Friday.

Crews are still working diligently on the east side of the fire near the Eagle Point subdivision, Buist said. However, they’ve not been able to contain that portion of the fire.

The weather remained calm on the fire Friday, though a red flag warning will be in effect for Saturday afternoon and evening, with wind gusts up to 25 mph hour expected.

Residents of Eagle Point, where crews have been working on structure protection after spot fires flared up there, may visit their residences on Saturday between 10:00 a.m. and 1 p.m.

No new evacuation orders were issued Friday, and residents of the following areas remain evacuated: Eagle Point subdivision, Snowmass Drive, Westside Bypass Road (2190), and locations inside the fire perimeter.

Thursday, fire information officer Sarah Saarloos said firefighters were “really kicking some butt,” in spite of the same hot, dry and windy conditions hampering the efforts of firefighters across the state.

“We haven’t lost any ground,” and you usually need to have the weather in your favor to achieve that, Saarloos said.

Thursday morning Saarloos likened the red-flag conditions over the past week to a mid-term. “We’re getting close to the final exam,” she said, “especially on the east perimeter.”

Highway 83 is now open. Officials are asking drivers to exercise caution with the highway being used for fire traffic. Seeley Lake, Placid Lake and Lake Inez are closed to recreational boat use to allow helicopters and water scooping planes to fill from the lake.

The fire has not reached Boy Scout Road, which runs along the west shore of Seeley Lake. Boy Scout Road is the trigger point for evacuating the town of Seeley Lake. If the fire hits it, “that’s the time when we would evacuate the rest of town,” fire information officer Pat Cross said last week. “I’m really hoping that doesn’t happen.”

The fire is listed as the nation’s No. 2 priority wildfire, behind the Black Cat Fire east of Frenchtown, Montana. Last week a Type 1 incident management team from Alaska took over command. So far, about $11.4 million has been spent fighting the fire.

Fire officials are calling the fire a long-term event, one that might not really quiet until fall arrives. The surrounding communities are in for a long season watching and waiting for enough moisture to end the season. Containment is estimated for Sept. 15. As of now, the fire is exhibiting “extreme” behavior in “extreme” terrain and has “extreme” growth potential, according to reports.

Fire officials confirmed Sunday, August 5 that at least one home burned in the weekend’s blow up, as the fire raced from 800 acres last Saturday morning to 14,200 by Sunday. 

In addition to the one destroyed home, seven outbuildings and “other” structures were destroyed, and another primary home and a commercial property were damaged.

The fire erupted Saturday, August 4 forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes around Placid Lake and Seeley Lake, closing Highway 83 and prompting Gov. Schweitzer to issue an emergency declaration. 

“It just screamed,” fire information officer Ricardo “Zuni” Zuniga said. “It just ran four to five miles in about four hours.”

The Jocko Lakes Fire was reported at about 3:00 Friday, August 3, ignited by lightning. The fire first started on Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Land, but quickly spotted to the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s protection on Forest Service lands.

Matthew Frank contributed to this story.

This story will be updated throughout the day. For a roundup of all of Montana’s wildfires, check in at www.newwest.net/fire.

Have pictures of the Jocko Lakes Fire you’d like to share with New West readers? Send them to matt@newwest.net.

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