Articles Tagged With: Wildland Fire
Crews on the Jocko Lakes Fire made good headway on strengthening the southeast corner of the fire Friday, said fire information office, Peter Buist.
Crews had dug indirect line on that portion of the line because of the thick fuels and steep terrain. On Friday, crews burned out the fuel between the fire line and the actual fire, eliminating fuel that could burn uncontrolled and spot over the line, Buist said.
The burning conditions remain the same, but without the winds and the added benefits of a dense smoky inversion, operations went well Friday.
"It’s always hot, dry and extreme. Unfortunately we’re getting used to that,” Buist said.
The fire is 20 percent contained and estimated at just more than 27,000 acres. More than 1,000 personnel were assigned to the fire Friday. A red flag warning will be in effect for Saturday afternoon and evening, with wind gusts up to 25 mph hour expected.
Update: 11:15 p.m. Crews on the Jocko Lakes Fire made good headway on strengthening the southeast corner of the fire Friday, said fire information office, Peter Buist.
Crews had dug indirect line on that portion of the line because of the thick fuels and steep terrain. On Friday, crews burned out the fuel between the fire line and the actual fire, eliminating fuel that could burn uncontrolled and spot over the line, Buist said.
"You go to a place where it’s logical to build line … and burn out from there,” he said.
The burning conditions remain the same, but without the winds and the added benefits of a dense smoky inversion, operations went well Friday.
"It’s always hot dry and extreme unfortunately we’re getting used to that,” Buist said.
The fire is 20 percent contained and estimated at just more than 27,000 acres.
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.
Because much of Thursday's activity occurred on a grassy face just north of I-90, everything that could have burned did. 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.
As predicted, squirrly winds whipped up several Montana fires Thursday, but others -- especially those in central Montana -- stayed relatively quiet under thick smoke inversions and cloud cover.
The most activity and attention Friday is focused on the Black Cat fire northwest of Missoula and east of Frenchtown, where three mobile homes and several outbuildings burned in a Thursday night blowup that added almost 4,000 acres to the fire. Most evacuations have been lifted on the fire, but officials warn that things can change very quickly.
Elsewhere in western Montana, the Sawmill Complex saw some growth, but not in the areas fire officials are too worried about, said fire information officer Pat McKelvey. On the Jocko Lakes fire, still the nation's No. 1 priority, lines are holding on the fire's east side and the containment number keeps inching up, now to 19 percent. And, on the Chippy Creek fire burning near Thompson Falls, thick smoke kept humidity up and fire activity down. In southcentral Montana on the Columbine fire in Yellowstone National Park, the thunderstorms brought rain and that kept fire activity quiet, allowing park officials to re-open the eastern entrance to the park.
More updates on Montana's largest fires after the jump.
Update: 9:30 a.m.
Ricardo Zuniga of FEMA said this morning that the Black Cat Fire has created a "dynamic situation." Officials are assessing what exactly happened and what burned during the fire's run Thursday night, trying to get evacuees back into their homes, and establishing objectives for the day. More information will be made available around 10:00 a.m.
According to the Missoula County Fire Information hotline (406-258-4271), the following areas are evacuated, as of 10:30 p.m. Thursday:
- West of Highway 93 from mile marker 3.5 to mile marker 6
- Grooms Road and all roads off of Grooms Road
- Fred's Land and all roads off of Fred's Lane
- O'Keefe Creek subdivision, with the exception of George Cates Blvd
- Hawthorne Springs subdivision
- Chula Vista Lane
- Mill Creek Road and all roads off of Mill Creek Road
A public meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Frenchtown Rural Fire Station #7, located on Ladyslipper Lane north of the Wye on Highway 93.
Firefighting efforts on the 24,190-acre Jocko Lakes Fire west of Seeley Lake were "steady and smooth" Wednesday, said fire information officer Lori Wiertsema.
Crews made good progress on the fire's unruly north and south flanks, where most of the activity has been over the past few days. By Wednesday night, the fire was up to 15 percent contained, up from 9 percent Wednesday morning.
Wednesday morning, the majority of the evacuated residents around Seeley Lake adjacent to the fire were allowed to return to their homes, except residents of the following areas: Eagle Point subdivision, Snowmass Drive, Westside Bypass Road (2190), and locations inside the fire perimeter.
In addition, Highway 83 is now open. Officials are asking drivers to exercise caution with the highway being used for fire traffic. The fire is estimated at 24,190 acres.
Updated 9:30 p.m. MDT The Black Cat Fire near Evaro, north of Missoula and west of Highway 93, made a run Wednesday night to the southwest with a change of wind and was nearing the drainage to the north of Fred's Lane.
No new evacuations were ordered and fire crews were confident the fire would hold in the drainage overnight behind retardant and contingency lines crews were able to get in early Wednesday, said a recorded message from the fire's information officer Paula Rosenthal. Fire crews from the Frenchtown Rural Fire Department were working overnight to protect homes in the area.
Evacuations remain in effect for residences -- at least 20 -- on the west side of highway 93, south of Bear Grass Mountain Road and North of O'Keefe. Homes on the east side of 93 were issued a pre-evacuation notice Wednesday. The fire remains more than a mile from the nearest homes.
Crews spent most of the day Wednesday on the fire's eastern flank, the side closest to homes (although there are several homes to the north of the fire as well), building line as air support dropped water and retardant to slow the blaze from crossing Highway 93, Rosenthal said earlier Wednesday evening. Dozers working on the north side of the fire also got help from the two helicopters and one air tanker on the fire.
Across the board, Montana fires grew in drier weather Tuesday, but heavy incoming smoke from Idaho fires helped keep fire activity close to the ground on some blazes.
Meanwhile, a new fire sprouted northwest of Missoula Tuesday, forcing the immediate evacuation of some 20 homes near Evaro west of Highway 93 and north of Interstate 90. The Black Cat Fire started just east of Frenchtown Pond and has so far burned 600 acres in steep, rocky terrain.
East of Missoula, the Sawmill Complex near Rock Creek also saw some action Tuesday and grew to 27,250 acres. Fire officials are expecting more activity in the next two days and so they ordered more evacuations along Rock Creek Road Tuesday. About 77 homes and cabins, not all occupied, were evacuated by 8 a.m. Wednesday.
UPDATE, 4:20 p.m.: Activity on the Brush Creek Fire, 25 miles west of Whitefish has prompted the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office to issue an “Evacuation Request” for the community of Good Creek. If the fire hits the trigger point today, an “Evacuation Order” will be issued. Residents should Prepare their homes, animals, and family members for a possible evacuation.
More updates on Montana fires after the jump...
Updated 10:00 p.m.The Black Cat fire near Evaro, north of Missoula and west of Highway 93, has calmed down some tonight, but is still actively burning on the ground, said Paula Rosenthal, Montana Department of Natural Resources fire information officer.
The fire, which has been sized at 280 acres, led to evacuations of more than 20 residences west of Highway 93 from mile marker 3 to about half way between mile markers 6 and 7. The fire is still more than a mile from the nearest homes, but with the dry conditions and stubborn nature of the blaze, safety of the residents is a priority, said Paula Rosenthal, the DNRC fire information officer on the scene Tuesday evening.
The fire is 0 percent contained. However, residents on Bear Grass Road were allowed to return to their home Tuesday evening, Rosenthal said. Highway 93 is open to north and south traffic.
Updated 9:30 p.m. Heat, low humidities and dry conditions are keeping the Jocko Lakes Fire's active on both the north and south flanks, said fire information officer Tom Kempton, Tuesday night.
"The conditions that we’ve got here are conditions that lead to free burning during the heat of the day," Kempton said. "Just a little bit of wind allows it to spot ahead of itself. This fire is active even at night.”
Fuel moisture in and around the fire are about the same as kiln-dried lumber sold at the hardware store, he said.
Despite a busy day on the stubborn fire, no new evacuations were ordered. On Tuesday, crews were able to hold the line on the east side of the fire, closest to Seeley Lake and most of the 1,500 threatened homes.
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.
As of Tuesday evening, the fire was mapped at 22,100 acres -- about 33 square miles -- and 9 percent contained. This estimate is conservative, but it's the best guess fire officials have now, he said. More accurate mapping will certainly illustrate further growth.
