Fire wreaks some havoc south of Eureka Sunday night

Hungry Horse News

A fire southwest of Eureka burned down a pole barn and a small storage shed Sunday night in the Pinkham Creek neighborhood.

The Camp 32 fire - a human caused blaze, is now being managed by a Type I team headed up by Wally Bennett of the Stillwater State Forest.

The Fire late Tuesday was still hot and burning within its 880 acre perimeter, but it hadn't made any runs, said public information officer Terry Knupp.

The fire still has the potential however to threaten a host of homes. About nine homeowners in Pinkham Creek have evacuated and three families refused. About 60 homes are also under pre-evacuation notices should the fire make a run.

There are still homes in the fire perimeter which were saved by initial runs from fire trucks on the ground, Knupp said.

Pinkham Creek is about an hour north of Whitefish.

Another blaze was started by lightning in the same area Tuesday afternoon after a thunderstorm rolled through. It's being called the Gibraltar Peak Fire and it's east of Eureka in the Kootenai National Forest.

About 150 personnel were on the Camp 32 fire, with more scheduled to come in to camp Tuesday. The weather is supposed to cool considerably in the next few days, which should help firefighting efforts.