4,500 acres blackened northwest of missoula

Black Cat Fire Remains Active Friday

By Jessica Mayrer and Greg Lemon, 8-17-07

	High winds push the Black Cat fire towards the Hawthorne Springs subdivision just east of Frenchtown late Thursday night as fire engine crews work to save homes and structures in the area. Photo by Anne Medley. Click here for a slideshow from the Black Cat Fire. BELOW: The Black Cat fire burns close to houses Thursday night. Photo by Andy Larsson.

With a day of gusty winds, the Black Cat Fire continued to grow under a blanket of smoke.

The current estimates of the size of the fire weren’t available Friday night, said fire information office, Peter D’Aquanni. Fire officials will conduct an infrared flight of the fire late Friday to get an accurate size. However, D’Aquanni expects the fire to have grown, particularly on the east and northwest flanks.

However, Friday’s fire behavior was nothing like Thursday afternoon and evening, when the Black Cat fire increased from 850 acres to 4,500, burning south and west through a mix of grass, brush, and timber and into residential neighborhoods. Structures were lost, including three vacant mobile homes, one vacant house, and a few outbuildings. The fire forced the evacuations of at least 200 residences.

On Friday, the fire back down to Highway 93 at two points, but was easily handled by fire fighters, D’Aquanni said. The fire was still west of Highway 93, he emphasized.

The fire is staffed by 208 fire fighters with more on the way. The fire managment was taken over by the Rocky Mountain Type I team and they have ordered more engines and handcrews. Type I Interagency Hotshot crews will be on the fire Saturday and managers are also expecting type II crews as well.

D’Aquanni expects the fire to behave the same Saturday as it did today. He expects to have the most significant trouble in the northwest corner, were crews worked hard to control the fire Friday.

Air resources have been limited by the dense smoke, he said.

“The aircraft is here it’s at the airport, we just need the right air conditions to use it,” D’Aquanni said.

Because much of Thursday’s activity occurred on a grassy face just north of I-90, everything that could have burned did, said Jane Ellis, co-manager of the Missoula Public Information Call Center. In that area only Mill Creek Road above Spring Hill Road remain evacuated. Residences west of Highway 93 from mile marker 3.5 to mile marker 6 remain evacuated, as do residences on Grooms Road and Beargrass Mountain Road. 

Despite many evacuation orders lifted, officials warn that things can change very quickly.

At the public meeting Friday night at Frenchtown High School, nearly 800 people came to hear about the fire’s progress and outlook, D’Aquanni said.

Fire officials are asking that passersby do not stop along the road to observe the fire—it presents a safety hazard to yourself, other motorists and firefighters. 

Thursday evening Shayne Spence, his wife Tina and his three children were forced to evacuate their home in the Hawthorne Springs subdivision, a home they built in July of last year. As flames crested the ridge just north of the subdivision, fire officials knocked on the Spence family’s door and issued a 30 minute preliminary evacuation notice. Fifteen minutes later, as Spence packed items into his SUV, fire officials returned to tell him he needed to leave immediately; the fire was moving faster than anticipated. 

Standing alongside Highway 90 an hour later, his wife and children safely relocated to a nearby family home, Spence watched as flames moved closer to his home. “It’s hard to describe how I feel,” he said. “The wind has only blown this way about five times, and my trees can attest to it because they’re all leaning the other direction.”

Hours earlier, on the eastern flank of the fire near Evaro, residents gathered at the intersection of Ladyslipper Lane and Highway 93 to watch as fingers of fire reached across fields of open grass just north of O’Keefe Creek Blvd. As the fire made its run, engine crews stayed with the homes dotting the hillside. At one point, “All you could see through the black was flashing lights [of the fire engines],” said Jamie Kirby, DNRC Public Information Officer.

Jennifer Graves, owner of Jim and Mary’s RV Park just east of Highway 93, felt the effects of the fire run immediately. “We’ve had a lot of cancellations today,” Graves said Thursday. With sixty rigs still staying at the Park, however, Graves worked to reassure her guests. “I keep telling them if I know something, you’ll know something.”

The fire threatens BPA and NorthWestern Energy power lines, a microwave tower site, a wooden railroad trestle and a number of structures.

The fire is under DNRC jurisdiction and it started about five miles east of Frenchtown Pond, said Lolo National Forest spokesman Boyd Hartwig.

It was reported about 2:15 in the afternoon Tuesday and was immediately responded to by aerial and ground resources from around the area, including engines and personnel from Frenchtown, Victor and Florence volunteer fire departments, Missoula Rural fire department, Lolo National Forest and DNRC. Three helicopters and one air tanker were also working the fire. Despite the effort, the fire continued to be erratic and active into the evening, Rosenthal said. 

The fire was ignited by lightning, D’Aquanni said.

“I learned a long time ago that Mother Nature levels the playing field,” Martin said.  “Mother Nature has dealt us a deck of cards, and it’s up to us to respond accordingly.”

Anne Medley and Matthew Frank contributed to this story. Check back at www.newwest.net/missoula for updates.

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