Montana Fires Quiet, But Severe Weather on its Way

By Jessica Mayrer, 8-14-07

The Jocko Lakes Fire west of Seeley Lake made another run Monday, this time to the north, but elsewhere in Montana things were relatively quiet Monday, giving crews a chance to reinforce fire lines and prepare for a frontal system may move across much of western Montana Thursday, possibly bringing with it windy conditions and strong to severe thunderstorms.

The Columbine Fire in Yellowstone National Park, which started Thursday by a lightning strike, was mapped at 10,000 acres Tuesday morning. After closing the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park on Sunday, it is now reopened, and rangers are posted at the gates to close it back down if the fire shifts. The fire slowed yesterday and it should remain quieter over the next couple of days, incident commander Mark Grant said. 

Approximately 100 structures are just outside the east side of the park, about four and a half miles from where the fire is burning.  Crews are working on structure protection inside of the park and no evacuations are in effect.

The lightning-caused fire started just before dark last Thursday evening, southwest of Sylvan Pass and the park’s East Entrance road. Gusty winds, hot temperatures and low humidity on Sunday afternoon stirred things up, causing the head of the fire to advance near the road.

Here’s a full roundup of the large fires burning in Montana…

Jocko Lakes Fire, west of Seeley Lake

With attention fixed on the Jocko Lakes Fire’s east side after Sunday’s break out, the fire on Monday “made a major run” along its northern flank, escaping confinement and spreading in isolated and remote country near the North Fork of Placid Creek, fire information officer Tom Kempton said.

“It was another fairly exciting one,” information officer Pete Buist said.

But on the east side, closest to Seeley Lake and most of the 1,500 threatened homes, there was little activity. “We hung on to it,” Buist said, referring to the fire line there along West Side Bypass Road, parallel to and about 1 1/2 miles west of the lake.

Overnight firefighters manned the east side, “mopping up and trying to get the heat out of it…so when the winds get squirrelly on us we’ll be prepared,” Buist said.

Winds may get squirrelly soon. According the National Weather Service, an approaching frontal system may move across the fire area and much of western Montana Thursday, possibly bringing with it windy conditions and strong to severe thunderstorms. “It speaks for itself,” Kempton said. Click here for the full story.

As of Tuesday morning, the fire was mapped at 21,270 acres—about 33 square miles—and 9 percent contained.

Chippy Creek Fire, North of Thompson Falls

The Chippy Creek Fire, 42 miles southwest of Kalispell, had grown to 73,650 acres by Tuesday morning. The fire grew by nearly 15,000 acres over the weekend, but containment is up to 30 percent contained.  Smoke and flames were visible from miles away, but the fire stayed within contingency lines, fire information officer Dixie Dies said. 

“We had a pretty good show this weekend,” Dies said. 

A Northern Rockies Type 1 team took over the fire Monday, replacing the Arizona-based Type II team that had been managing the incident. Evacuation orders have been lifted for everyone except residents of the Hubbart Reservoir and Niarada on the northeast side of the fire.

In Western Montana: 

• The Sawmill Complex, a complex of three fires near Rock Creek and 22 miles southeast of Missoula, was mapped at 29,820 acres Tuesday morning, adding about 6,000 acres over the weekend. The three fires were completely smoked in Monday, according to fire officials, and little growth occurred. The biggest blaze of the three, the Wyman 2 Fire, continues to expand to the northeast and is moving just over the Sapphire divide on the Bitterroot side. While some evacuations were lifted last week for the Williams Gulch and Wild Rose Loop subdivisions, all other evacuations and road closures remain in effect. 

  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 Road is also closed.

• The Rombo Fire, on the Bitterroot National Forest, grew by more than 1,000 acres over the weekend, and Tuesday morning it was up to 5,500, with zero percent contained. An information meeting is planned for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Painted Rocks Boat Ramp to discuss the Rombo Fire.

• Several new starts were reported on the Bitterroot National Forest. 30 firefighters were sent to the Lost Trail Pass, which was at 5 acres Sunday morning. An initial attack team succeeded in snuffing the Canyon fire, which was started Wednesday by lightening.

• The Tin Cup Fire west of Darby was called 100 percent contained Sunday and the management team issued its final update, saying fire crews would start patrolling the area and continue to mop up hot spots within 300 feet of the fire perimeter. Fire suppression rehabilitation is also underway. “Demobilization of resources has begun as the fire growth potential is low,” the update reported. Evacuation orders were lifted Saturday for about 37 homes that had been affected. The fire is at 608 acres, and despite initial alarm about the blaze - it was the nation’s number one priority late last week - it was contained quickly with no structures lost. Call 406-375-6650 for more information. The fire burned 608 acres.

  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. It was 8,865 acres at zero percent contained Tuesday morning, 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 Skyland Fire in the Flathead National Forest totals 40,485 acres at 59 percent contained. It’s 45 miles east of Whitefish. 

• The Brush Creek Fire, about 29 miles west of Whitefish, MT, is up to 26,421 acres, gaining about 370 acres Sunday, and is up to 50 percent contained with a target containment date set for August 30. There is direct and indirect line all the way around the fire, but crews still need to burn and blacken the line to secure it. The mandatory evacuation order for the community of Star Meadow remains in effect. The Good Creek Community has been put on warning to be ready should it need to evacuate.

  There will be a community meeting Wednesday at 7pm at the Incident Command Post located 3 1/4 miles south of US Highway 93 on Farm to Market Road.
  

• The Garceau Fire, 10 miles from Polson on the Flathead Indian Reservation, has burned a total of 3,045 acres.  Officials declared it contained Monday. 
  

Southwestern Montana: 

• The Rat Creek Fire, has burned nearly 1,500 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, 25 miles west of Wisdom, zero percent contained.  Sustained crown fire with long-range spotting was observed. No structures threatened.

• The Pattengail Creek Fire, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest 10 miles northeast of Wisdom. 5,200 acres at 20 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 Wolf Creek Fire, southeast of Miles City now totals nearly 6,713 acres, but was 75 percent contained Tuesday. Evacuations are in effect.

  And the Moon Creek Settlement Fire, burning in timber and grass 25 miles southeast of Miles City, is estimated to be 2,000 acres and 15 percent contained. Extreme wind-driven fire activity was reported. About 40 structures are threatened and evacuations are in effect on “several” homes, according to morning reports.

• The Ahorn Fire, burning in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Lewis and Clark National Forest 30 miles west of Augusta, has quieted lately under higher relative humidity with no sustained fire activity, but a red flag warning has been issued for Tuesday between noon and 09:00pm, with the hours of 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm being of the greatest concern. The fire is 44,529 acres at six 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 42,425 acres and is 75 percent contained. 

• The Fool Creek Fire, in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, 33,529 acres, 30 miles Northwest of Choteau. The fire is 0 percent contained but showed very little growth over the weekend. Burning in wilderness, this fire is not being actively suppressed. A containment target has been set for Oct. 31

South-Central Montana: 

Two new fires are burning in the Gallatin national forest near Big Timber, the Hicks Park Fire and the Wicked Creek Fire. 

• The The Hicks Park Fire , in the Main Boulder Drainage south of Big Timber, is estimated to be 1,500 acres and prompted officials to implement several closures, including the Main Boulder River Road, from Natural Bridge south. The drainage has been evacuated from ClydeHurst Church Camp (near Big Beaver Campground) south to Box Canyon. From Natural Bridge to ClydeHurst Church Camp, residents have been placed on pre-evacuation notice.  For residents on pre-evacuation notice, Sweet Grass County is requiring they obtain a trip permit to access their property, to help ensure a correct accounting of people in the drainage should evacuation become necessary. Trip permits can be obtained at the Sweet Grass County Courthouse, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The Gallatin and Custer National Forests are implementing an area closure including the entire West Boulder and Main Boulder drainages. A Type 1 Incident Command Team that will take command of both Wicked and Hicks Park Fires sometime Tuesday. 

  A community meeting to discuss the Hicks Park Fire is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. this afternoon at the Sweet Grass County High School. 

• The Wicked Creek Fire, is burning 12 miles up the Mill Creek basin on the east side of Paradise Valley, growing to 10,000 acres by Tuesday morning.  About 20 structures, including a bible camp and an inholding, were evacuated Saturday and Sunday night, the Park County Sheriff issued evacuation orders for the Mill Creek drainage as well, above the end of the paved road. A Type I team arrived at the fire Monday. It is burning about 2 miles south of Templed Hills Church Camp and 2 1/2 miles south and east of Snowbank Campground. It is burning in grass and timber and is being pushed north/northeast by strong and gusty winds.

  The Type I team coming in will manage both the Wicked Creek Fire and the new 1,200-1,500-acre Hicks Park Fire south of Big Timber.

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

  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. 
  

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