Montana Fires Quiet Despite Red Flag Conditions

By New West Editor, 8-11-07

	Caption: This is Friday's map of the state's biggest and most pressing fires. Click the image to enlarge. The colors represent the following: Red: Actively burning in the last 12 hours. Orange: Actively burning in the last 24 hours. Yellow: Previously burned. For the the full Forest Service's MODIS Active Fire Detection map, click here.

Red flag conditions were expected to hit wildfires all across Montana Friday, but where they materialized fire lines withstood the wind and low humidities and little growth was reported, and in other areas, they didn’t materialize at all. The big news was that more evacuation orders were lifted adjacent to the Jocko Lakes Fire. A fire weather watch is in effect today for most of the Northern Rockies.

Jocko Lakes Fire, West of Seeley Lake

Despite Friday’s red flag winds, it was “actually a pretty good day” on the Jocko Lakes Fire west of Seeley Lake, fire information officer Tom Kempton said.

The Archibald Creek area along the fire’s northeast flank close to Seeley Lake remained active, but firefighters constructed hose and dozer line and were performing burnout operations there—“creating a little more black”—to ensure that the fire won’t creep closer to the lake and the many houses on its west side, Kempton said.

Officials feel good enough about the progress that they again modified evacuation orders. Friday evening evacuation orders were conditionally lifted for about 250 residences, on top of the orders lifted Thursday. Now only 60 to 70 of the original 675 evacuated homes remain so.

The fire grew about 700 acres Friday for a total of 19,330—about 30 square miles—with much of the growth again occurring on the south side. The fire remains 10 percent contained. More than 600 personnel were working the blaze Friday.

The fire has not yet 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 Tuesday. “I’m really hoping that doesn’t happen.”

Click here for more. 

Tin Cup Fire, West of Darby

As of Saturday morning, the evacuation orders that had been issued for about 37 homes near the Tin Cup Fire west of Darby are lifted. However, those residences are now on evacuation standby, and residents need to be prepared to evacuate if notified by the Ravalli County Sheriff. Call 406-375-6650 for more information.

Friday night the fire was estimated at 608 acres and 80 percent contained. The fire is expected to be fully contained Sunday.

Chippy Creek Fire, North of Thompson Falls

Firefighters on the Chippy Creek Fire, 42 miles southwest of Kalispell have the east flank very secure, and it’s prompting officials to “take a hard look at when to lift the evacuation orders,” fire information officer Bruce Prud’homme said. The evacuated residences, about 50 in all, are near the northeast edge of the fire.

As of Saturday morning, the fire had grown to 59,029 acres, 15 percent contained. More than 500 people are working the fire Saturday.

The fire was active Friday in its northwest and southwest sections, but the burning mostly occurred within containment lines, Prud’homme said.

More hot and dry conditions are expected in the coming days, with temps in the 80s, winds approaching 20 mph, and relative humidity below 20 percent. Such conditions—“20/20”—can make for very active fire behavior, Prud’homme said.

Two information meetings are scheduled: Saturday in Elmo at the Elmo Community Center at 1:30 p.m., and in Hot Springs in the Hot Springs High School at 7 p.m.

Region-by-Region breakdown:

Also, check in often to InciWeb, where the large fires are being updated from fire camp regularly. The large fires with InciWeb pages are linked in the roundup below. Click on the name of the fire for that fire’s page. (InciWeb has been slammed lately and it’s often inaccessible.)

For a look at fire weather forecasts, click here and for a national breakdown of wildland fires, click here.

Stage II fire restrictions, meaning no campfires, smoking, daytime industrial operations and motor vehicle use off designated roads and trails, are in effect across western and west-central Montana. Click here for more details. 

Western Montana: 

Firefighters responded to several new fire starts Friday on the Lolo National Forest, including the Daly Peak Fire in the Scapegoat Wilderness about 30 miles east, southeast of the community of Seeley Lake near the forest’s border with the Helena National Forest. The fire is about one-tenth of an acre and was likely started by a lightning strike. The Lolo NF Dispatch Center requested Smokejumpers to suppress the fire due to its remote location. The fire was first detected Thursday night. Firefighters were also responding to the Cave Creek and Nome Point Fires on the Seeley Lake Ranger District, about 15 miles east of Seeley Lake. Those fires were also less than one acre.

• The Jocko Lakes Fire, 19,330 acres—or about 30 square miles—Friday night. More information above.

• The Sawmill Complex, a complex of three fires near Rock Creek and 22 miles southeast of Missoula, was up to 22,850 acres Saturday morning at five percent contained. The biggest of the three fires that make up the complex is the Wyman 2 Fire at 16,970 acres. The resident that was evacuated Friday was advised to remain out of the home overnight. The southwest flank of the fire is saturated with “spots,” and the spotting distance remains at 1/2 mile or greater. Power was restored to the area Friday after a storm caused power outages Thursday night.

  Evacuations were lifted Wednesday in the Williams Gulch and Wild Rose Loop subdivisions, which means all evacuations on the complex have been lifted, but residents are still on warning, fire information officer Karen Semple said.

  Rock Creek Road beginning at the intersection of I-90, south to the intersection with state road 348, remains closed. Only residents and area landowners are allowed access beyond the control points. Stony Creek Rd. is also closed.

• The Rombo Fire, on the Bitterroot National Forest, is up to 3,400 acres, zero percent contained.

• The Tin Cup Fire 608 acres. More above.

  For more on the Rombo, Tin Cup and all of the Bitterroot blazes go here: http://63.196.254.151/WildWeb/WCMT-BRC.htm. Click “recent incidents.”

• The Conger Creek Fire, Lolo National Forest, 20 miles north of Ovando along Highway 200. 7,500 acres at zero percent contained, being managed as a Wildand Fire Use fire and monitored, not actively suppressed.  (Click here to learn more about Wildand Fire Use.)

Northwestern Montana: 

• The Chippy Creek Fire The Chippy Creek Fire, 42 miles southwest of Kalispell, 59,029 acres. More above.

• The Garceau Fire, 10 miles from Polson on the Flathead Indian Reservation, has burned a total of 3,045 acres is 97 percent contained. Expected to be fully contained Saturday.

• The Skyland Fire in the Flathead National Forest totals 39,150 acres at 36 percent contained. It’s 45 miles east of Whitefish. Click here for more from the Great Falls Tribune.

• The Brush Creek Fire, about 29 miles west of Whitefish, MT, is up to 22,928 acres at 15 percent contained with a target containment date set for August 30. The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office has issued a mandatory evacuation order for the community of Star Meadow. The Good Creek Community has been put on warning to be ready should it need to evacuate.

Southwestern Montana: 

• The Pattengail Creek Fire, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest 10 miles northeast of Wisdom. 3,910 acres at 25 percent contained. Because this fire is not advancing as rapidly as other fires in the region, it is considered to be a lower priority.

Central Montana: 

• The Ahorn Fire burning in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Lewis and Clark National Forest 30 miles west of Augusta has been quieted lately by higher relative humidity. Precipitation occurred over the fire area Friday and there’s been no sustained fire activity. The fire is 44,150 acres at five percent contained. Click here for a recent map of the fire.

• Crews have a good handle on the Meriwether Fire, burning in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness north of Helena near Wolf Creek. The fire is up to 41,314 acres at 65 percent contained. As the Great Falls Tribune reports, Friday’s predicted red-flag winds failed to materialize.

• The Fool Creek Fire, in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, in Bob Marshall Wilderness, 32,365 acres, 30 miles Northwest of Choteau. The fire is 0 percent contained and a containment target has been set for Oct. 31.

For the latest fire information, visit NewWest.Net/Fire