Fire Roundup

Smoky, But Red Eagle Fire Burning Where it Should

By Matthew Frank, 8-14-06

	Fresh burn from the Red Eagle Fire as seen from Hwy 2. Photo by Mark Maher.

The Red Eagle fire remains quiet, fire information officer Pat McKelvey said Monday. But there’s been quite a bit of smoke rising from the blaze that’s causing residents and visitors concern. The plume is coming from high cirque basins where the fire will remain active until the fuel is completely burned through, all part of the confinement strategy, McKelvey said.

The fire, burning Glacier National Park and Blackfeet Tribal lands, has eaten up an estimated 31,818 acres and remains 75 percent contained. The east and north sides of the fire are beginning to be rehabilitated and some of the 425 people assigned to it will soon be demobilized. The blaze should be fully contained by mid-September.

Elsewhere, the Gash Creek fire burning six miles southwest of Victor has now run through 5,200 acres of land and continues to creep north toward Glen Lake. The blaze remains 60 percent contained with no set containment date. “As we build line,” fire information officer Mike Cole said Monday, “the fire keeps moving.”

The increase in acreage is attributed to growth in the northeast corner as well, where firefighters worked Sunday to tie Gash Creek fire lines to burnt forest left behind by past fires, the blaze burning in between. The south and east sides of the fire, meanwhile, remain cool and on patrol status.

Today crews are working to build more line to the north in hopes of limiting the fire’s growth to the Glen Lake basin and not beyond. They’re also mopping up in the fully contained areas.

A total of 247 personnel are working the fire, including three hotshot crews and two Type II teams. Equipment includes four helicopters, two engines, three dozers, and five water tenders.

The Big Creek blaze burning in the Paradise Valley is scheduled to be fully contained Tuesday. As of Sunday night, the fire had covered 12,134 acres and was 85 percent contained. The weekend brought light showers and cooler temperatures that led to minimal fire activity. Rehabilitation efforts are underway in most areas.

But in the rugged terrain to the north nearly inaccessible by foot, helicopters and air tankers were at work this weekend. Hand crews and fire line explosives were used to construct contingency containment line over a mile beyond that northern perimeter.

Stage II fire restrictions remain in effect for much of Western Montana. Stage II restrictions mean absolutely no campfires, no smoking except inside a building or vehicle and no off-road or off-trail motorized use. They also mean no welding, using a torch or explosives or running a chainsaw or other equipment powered by an internal combustion engine for felling, bucking, skidding, road building or woodcutting between the hours of 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.

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