Sawmill Complex Fire Daily Update: Sept. 7

By Guest Writer, 9-07-07

Rock Creek road will reopen to the public at 7 a.m. Saturday. After the road reopens, National Guard units will be released from their duties maintaining road closures.

Area closures on the Lolo, Beaverhead-Deerlodge, and Bitterroot National Forests remain in effect because of fire activity. 

Rock Creek and Upper Willow Creek residents remain on a short notice for evacuation if fire conditions change significantly.

Upper Willow Creek road (Granite County) is open to residents only. Roads in the Stony Creek area remains closed because firefighters are working in the area.

Complex Wide: Fire activity was again quiet today.  Cool temperatures and high humidity contributed to reduced activity. Members of Tom Heintz’s Type 2 Incident Management Team arrived Friday and began working alongside their counterparts in Don Angell’s team. Heintz’s team takes charge of the fire Saturday morning. 

Fisher Point Fire (14,997 acres, date of origin 7/28/07) had minimal fire activity Thursday. Fire personnel will continue mopping up hot areas along the fire perimeter near Upper Willow Creek Road. 

Wyman 2 Fire (35,393 acres, date of origin 7/29/07) had minimal activity, even in the area north of Skalkaho Pass that had been active Tuesday and Wednesday.  The Helena Hotshots scouted the area Thursday to prepare for fireline construction planned Friday. The Helena and Idaho Panhandle Hotshots will be working in the area, assisted by two engines.  Crews will continue to monitor and patrol along Rock Creek and the lower part of Stony Creek. 

Sawmill Fire (11,811 acres, date of origin 7/15/07) was quiet. Crews continued to monitor and patrol west of Rock Creek.

Sawmill Complex Statistics at a Glance:

* Date Complex Formed:  July 31, 2007
* Location: 22 miles southeast of Missoula MT
* Cause: Lightning
* Fuels: Timber, litter, and grass
* Size: 62,494 acres
* Containment: 24%
* Cost:  $18,400,000
* Resources:  Crews - 4; Helicopters - 4; Engines - 15; Personnel - 302

On Saturday, Tom Heintz’s Type 2 Team will replace Don Angell’s team. 

The Skalkaho Road is not currently being affected by road closures. 

Due to water conditions and fire operations, Rock Creek is closed to fishing from the Skalkaho Highway Bridge to the Clark Fork River. 

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest has closed portions of the Goose Gulch Rd. #4325, Otter Creek Rd. #8419, Miners Gulch Rd. #5156, and Upper Willow Creek Rd. (Granite County) #88. These roads are closed to all motorized vehicles, foot, bicycle, and horse activities for public safety due to fire activity. 

The Bitterroot National Forest has closed Trail #313 (Sapphire Divide) from the Skalkaho road to Sawmill Saddle.

Attention Hunters: Additional sections of the Lolo, Beaverhead-Deerlodge, and Bitterrroot National Forest have been closed due to the current fire activity. Please check the National Forests’ websites for the most up-to-date closures before proceeding to traditional hunting spots.

Lolo NF: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/lolo/

Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/b-d/

Bitterroot NF: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/bitterroot/

Editor’s note: As part of our fire coverage, NewWest.Net is posting here the email updates and press releases we get directly from fire camps as we get them. These do not replace our ongoing full coverage of the fires at www.newwest.net/fire, but supplement the information you get throughout the day with the updates we get throughout the day. We aim to give you all the information we get and here it is in its “unfiltered” form. For full stories, check back often at www.newwest.net/fire and continue to look for these updates from fire camps in the link box on the right-hand side of the page.