montana fire roundup

Montana Wildfires Staying Cool

By Matthew Frank, 8-23-07

	Incident Commander Kim Martin briefing Senator Jon Tester on the Black Cat Fire. Photo courtesy of Bob Summerfield.

Cooler temperatures and the lingering effects of the rain that fell on many Montana fires earlier in the week are keeping things calm around the state. Containment percentages are creeping up and all eyes are on the forecast to see if and when the fires will get dried back out and stirred back up.

Here’s a roundup…

Black Cat Fire

Firefighters continue to make headway containing the Black Cat Fire, northwest of the intersection of Highway 93 and Interstate-90 near Evaro.

“Things are looking really, really good on, I would say, the southern half of the fire,” fire information officer Pam Wilson said Thursday.

The interior of the northern, more wooded half continues to burn, but the fire hasn’t spread beyond its 11,515 acres, Wilson said. The fire is 35 percent contained.

Today, firefighters will finish up a 30-acre burnout operation near O’Keefe Creek, northwest of Evaro. And, if weather permits, they’ll begin a larger burnout—about 300 acres, Wilson said—near Charity Peak at the fire’s northern boundary, about 2 ½ miles west of Highway 93.

“The next couple of days are looking really favorable for burnouts,” Wilson said, with light winds and a gradual drying and warming trend. But, “It could put up some pretty significant smoke.”

Wilson said that this weekend might bring some stronger winds.

There will be a community meeting today at Frenchtown High School at 7:30 p.m., and Friday at Arlee High School at 7:30 p.m. There are no more evacuation orders in effect for the Black Cat Fire.

Senator Jon Tester visited fire camp last night.

There are 665 personnel working the fire, including nine Type 1 handcrews and six Type 2 handcrews, aided by 30 engines, 7 dozers, 12 watertenders, and aerial resources.

Click here for Anne Medley’s photos from Thursday night’s run.

Jocko Lakes Fire

Northwest of Missoula, the Jocko Lakes Fire west of Seeley Lake remains quiet, but since the cooler weather and rains came through earlier in the week, “the fire has become a little more active each day,” fire information officer Roger Miller said. Still, “nothing really significant is expected.”

Firefighters are still focusing the “lion’s share” of resources on the southern flank, where the fire flared up Sunday, and on the northern section in the Deer Creek area, Miller said.

Along those two flanks crews are working on “massive” hoselays, Miller said, a several day process. “Everyday we’re making real good progress,” he said.

The fire stands at 34,810 acres, 33 percent contained. All of the evacuation orders have been lifted.

Westside Bypass Road remains closed to public travel due to heavy fire traffic, and Placid and Seeley Lakes remain closed to recreational use to allow for aerial suppression activities.

Chris Hoff’s Pacific Northwest Type 1 Team will assume command Friday at 7:00 a.m.

Sawmill Complex

The 55,000-acre Sawmill Complex remained cool Wednesday and no fire spread was reported, but officials warn that as the light fuels continue to dry, fire activity will increase. In the meantime, firefighters will continue to take advantage of the conditions and directly attack spot fires and areas where the fire has slopped over the line.

The Wyman 2 Fire stands at 34,000 acres, and crews have the spot fire on the south side of Stony Creek 80 percent contained. Crews will burnout when they can on the northern end and tie in with the old Alder Burn.

The Sawmill Fire is 10,300 acres, and crews are working on the spot fire east of Rock Creek. Ground resources were pulled off the slopover due to rolling rocks, and smokejumpers from Missoula were brought in to help.
The north end of the fire is still progressing toward Gilbert Creek.

The Fisher Point Fire is still 10,400 acres, and on Wednesday, firefighters continued to work spots east of 4325 Road and hope to contain the fire to the west of 4325 Road.

All evacuation orders have been lifted, but Rock Creek and Upper Willow Creek (Granite County) residents are still under a 24-hour pre-evacuation notice.

Mile Marker 12 to Miller Flats Rock Creek Road is closed to all traffic, including residents. The alternate route for Miller Flat residents is along the Rock Creek to the south.The Upper Willow Creek road is open to residents only.

Rombo Fire

Rain from earlier in the week still has the Rombo Fire south of Darby quiet. Thursday morning the fire was still 20,300 acres, zero percent contained.

The mandatory evacuations for residents between the Trapper Creek Job Corps Center and south to Lloyd Creek along the West Fork Road were downgraded to a Stage I Pre-evacuation Alert. 

Meanwhile, near Billings, the Ford fire, which started Sunday afternoon and quickly raced to 804 acres and burned at least two homes, is pretty well wrapped up at 90 percent contained. The Billings Gazette reports that the fire left an estimated $1.5 to $2 million of damage.

Northwestern Montana Fires:

• The Chippy Creek Fire, 42 miles southwest of Kalispell and 24 miles north of Thompson Falls is still mapped at 96,154 acres, 35 percent contained.

  Crews stayed out on the line overnight, following a burnout operation to secure the southwest corner of the fire.  A dozer line was completed to seal off the Alder Creek portion.  Conditions did not allow the planned burnout on the northwest side of the fire.

  Today’s objectives are to secure fire lines on the northwest and southwest corners, perform burnouts where possible, build direct fire line where possible, and completely line and mop up all spots.

  Residents along the Hubbard Dam Road from the junction with the Niarada Road north to the Hubbard Dam subdivision remain under an evacuation order.

• The Skyland Fire, in the Flathead National Forest 45 miles east of Whitefish, has seen moderate activity lately and the fire remains 45,215 acres. It’s now 55 percent contained, up from 51 percent Wednesday.

  All evacuations have been reduced to Stage 1—or evacuation warnings. Those warnings apply to the following: Highway 2 Corridor, with 26 residences and 28 outbuildings; Glacier Acres with 46 residences and 13 outbuildings; Little Badger with 26 residences and 24 outbuildings.

  Acres burned by landowner are as follows: Blackfeet Tribal Land: 9,626; Private land within Blackfeet Tribal Land: 1,167; Private land within Lewis & Clark National forest: 411; Flathead National Forest: 3,403; Lewis and Clark National Forest: 30,608.

• The Brush Creek Fire, burning about 25 miles west of Whitefish, has been relatively quiet, giving crews a chance to make big progress in building more containment line. As of Thursday morning, the fire was still 29,839 acres at 90 percent contained. The fire should be all wrapped up soon.

Southwestern Montana:

• The Rat Creek Fire, in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, 25 miles west of Wisdom, remains at 19,259 acres and 15 percent contained. 38 structures remain threatened. Recent rainfall is not a “season ending event” but it will hamper fire behavior for the next couple of days, the fire camp reports. The Big Hole National Battlefield is open to the public with normal business hours (9:00am-6:00pm) but remains ready to evacuate if necessary. The Northfork Ranch was evacuated early Sunday evening while several other ranches and the Battlefield are being monitored and are on pre-evacuation notice. 

• The Pattengail Creek Fire, in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest 10 miles northeast of Wisdom, grew to 11,788 acres Saturday and has held there since. No structures are threatened and the fire is 15 percent contained.

Central Montana:

• The Ahorn Fire, burning in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Lewis and Clark National Forest 30 miles west of Augusta, is now mapped at 51,000 acres and jumped from 8 percent containment to 10 percent.

  Evacuations are still in place to the fire’s east (Stoner Place), around Gibson reservoir and to the fire’s south, in the Benchmark area, where there are about 65 forest service lease cabins.

• 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 stands at 43,296 acres and is 75 percent contained.

• The Fool Creek Fire, in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, 30 miles Northwest of Choteau, is up to 60,000 acres and 15 percent contained. Some drizzle fell over the fire area Monday night and Tuesday morning. Containment is not expected until a season-ending event.

• The Conger Creek Fire, Lolo National Forest, 20 miles north of Ovando along Highway 200, is at 18,300 acres and being managed as a Wildand Fire Use fire and monitored, not actively suppressed.  (Click here to learn more about Wildand Fire Use.)

Southcentral Montana:

• The Columbine Fire, burning 46 miles southeast of Mammoth in Yellowstone National Park got even more rain (enough for a mudslide) over the weekend and only smoldering and creeping were reported on the fire. The fire is estimated at 18,255 acres and 10 percent contained. The eastern entrance to the park is now open after being closed intermittently by the fire and then on Saturday, closed by a mudslide unrelated to the fire.

• The The Hicks Park Fire , in the Main Boulder Drainage south of Big Timber, has been combined with the Wicked Creek Fire , burning near the Mill Creek drainage of the Paradise Valley south of Livingston, to form the WH Complex.

  In total, the complex has burned 28,550 acres and, by Thursday morning, it was 50 percent contained.

  Residents on evacuation notice from the Hicks Park Fire can obtain a trip permit to access their property. The trip permit allows property owners to go beyond the road block after 6:00 a.m. and returning by noon. Trip permits can be obtained at the Sweet Grass County Courthouse from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.

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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