Montana Fire Update

Three More Buildings Confirmed Lost in Big Creek Fire

By Courtney Lowery, 8-02-06

	This cutting from a map of the Big Creek Fire shows the southeastern flank where the homes in the area are. As you can see, there are at 25 homes within the perimeter of the fire (the red line designates the perimeter.) Only six buildings have been confirmed burned, however. Fire information officer Marilyn Krause said there may be other buildings damaged, but for the most part, many of the homes are safe. "They saved lots and lots of homes," she said. Click here for the full pdf of this map. And, for help locating Montana's wildfires, see the MODIS Active Fire Detection maps.

As crews get a handle on the Big Creek Fire near Emigrant in the Paradise Valley, fire officials have confimed at least three more buildings burned in the fire's weekend blowup.

Earlier reports showed just six buildings -- three of them homes -- burned in the fire, but new aerial reports show at least three more, said fire information officer Marilyn Krause. There's no word yet on what kind of buildings the other three were.

With the help of cooler temperatures Monday and Tuesday, the fire is holding at 12,000 acres and crews have line around 20 percent of the fire. That 20 percent is primarily from secure lines holding well on the south and southeastern "horseshoe" between the 50 or so threatened homes and the fire.

The fire, burning about 29 miles southwest of Livingston on the west side of Highway 89 blew up Sunday. The map to the right here shows where the fire is burning and as you can see, there are at least 25 buildings within the perimeter of the fire. But, many of those were saved by the "very hard work" of structure protection crews over the last few days. "Some of them, the fire burned right up to the house," Krause said. "They saved lots and lots of homes."

About 50 homes are evacuated in the area, Krause said, but not all of the residents have chosen to leave.

Tuesday, crews focused on reinforcing lines on the southeast edge of the fire, some of the line dug by bulldozers and other "black" lines where the fire has already burned. The fire is primarily moving to the north and west and by Monday, it had crossed into an old burn area where the Fridley Fire burned in 2001, which means there is less fuel to burn there. Still, fire information officer Erin Fryer said crews were concerned with that area because it wasn't a "clean burn" -- meaning there is no definitive fire perimeter. It threw so many little fires in this weekend's erratic winds that it's hard to tell where the fire actually begins and ends.

Krause said while the fire was calming, it still has dangerous potential.

"If we get those famous winds here, fires can spot a long way," she said.

Wednesday she said crews were facing warmer and drier weather, so the fire promised to get a little more active today.
The cause of the fire is unknown.

More crews came in Tuesday, upping the personnel count to 282 people, four helicopters and air tankers when they're available. The National Interagency Fire Center is working on getting more resources in the already fire-strapped West and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has activated two National Guard Blackhawk helicopters to help, which will be ready to go by Thursday.

Meanwhile, northeast of the Big Creek Fire, the lightning-caused South Pine Fire is 40 percent contained and burning just less than 800 acres. It got a little rain overnight, which helped cool activity. The plan for Wednesday was to do an infrared flight to map out hot spots for water drops, especially focusing on the 2-3 acre "slop" the fire threw over the west ridge above Paradise Valley. There, the terrain is too dangerous for crews to get in. This morning's report did have a warning for thunderstorms rolling through the area, bringing with it erradic winds.

The South Pine fire is not threatening and structures and is projected to keep moving into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. The Pine Creek Lake Trail #47, George Lake Trail #184 and the Pine Creek Campground are closed.

There is joint public meeting for the South Pine and the Big Creek fires scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Arrowhead school.

Both of these fires are being updated regularly on www.inciweb.org.

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