Evacuation lifted at Star Meadow, but fire situation statewide remains serious

By RICHARD HANNERS

Whitefish Pilot

Much needed rain and colder weather that reached the Flathead on Monday and Tuesday have helped firefighters get a handle on some tough wildfires.

Incident commands report the bigger fires are smoldering with occasional torching, and firelines have been dramatically improved compared to past weeks.

But the weather changes may not be enough to quench regional wildfires feeding on unusually dry forest fuels.

Wildfires burning across Montana reached historic proportions this year, with smoke filling the state's northwest valleys and spilling out across the eastern plains.

Thousands of federal firefighters, backed by aircraft and local firefighters doing structure protection, were battling hot fires in dangerous locations from west of Whitefish all the way to Miles City.

At one point, 42 major fires were burning across the U.S. — 40 were in the West, and 19 of those were in Montana.

But that was before the Black Cat Fire jumped into view Aug. 14. Lightning ignited the fire 16 miles north of Missoula on July 17, but it smoldered unnoticed for nearly a month before a smoke plume was spotted. The fire quickly moved east into the Evaro area, closing U.S. Highway 93 and forcing the evacuation of more than 100 homes.

A thunderstorm with erratic winds two days later blew the fire in all directions — including south, downhill and across grasslands toward Frenchtown. Firefighters and emergency personnel from two counties responded, as burning embers blew a quarter mile in front of the rapidly advancing fire.

Three mobile homes were destroyed in Frenchtown, but local firefighters assisted by helicopters dropping water in key locations were credited with saving many more structures.

Gusty winds on Saturday, Aug. 18, pushed the Black Cat Fire back toward Evaro again, forcing the evacuation of 120 homes and closing U.S. 93 for 3 1/2 hours. Pilot cars began ferrying traffic through the Evaro corridor by 9 p.m.

More than 600 firefighters continue to fight the 11,500-acre blaze, which was reportedly 35 percent contained.

In the Flathead, the county teamed up with Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park and 18 local fire districts to keep volunteer professional firefighters on paid status from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Over the past month and a half, three of the five highway accesses to the Flathead were closed because of wildfires.

South of Kalispell, the Chippy Creek Fire continued to roar through tinder-dry timber toward homes near Hubbard Reservoir. By Aug. 12, the largest fire in Montana had truly reached historic proportions when it grew to more than 76,000 acres in size.

That put the dangerous wildfire ahead of the 2001 Moose Fire, which burned 71,000 acres in the North Fork, and second behind the 1929 Half Moon Fire.

The Half Moon Fire began near the Stoltze Land and Lumber sawmill. It ran up and over Teakettle Mountain, through the Middle Fork Canyon and into Glacier National Park. When fall rains finally put it out, 103,000 acres of timberland, much of it virgin cedar forest, had burned.

More than 600 firefighters had about 30 percent of the Chippy Creek Fire contained by Aug. 18, but red-flag winds that afternoon drove the fire across 3,000 more acres. By Tuesday, the fire had burned 96,154 acres. Firefighters had it 33 percent contained at a cost of $10.6 million.

Just a few weeks ago, some firefighters had expressed concern that, considering the unusually hot, dry weather over the past several months and the available timber fuels, the Chippy Creek Fire could continue burning north across U.S. Highway 2 at Marion — possibly all the way to the Brush Creek Fire.

Crews on the Brush Creek Fire had a more successful time on Aug. 18, and the fire has not increased in size the way other Montana fires have. Evacuation orders for the Star Meadows have been lifted, but they remain in effect for the Good Creek area.

With 583 firefighters assigned to the fire, it was about 90 percent contained. Firefighters employed hand crews, bulldozers, two air tankers and helicopter drops to widen fire lines. About $11.3 million has been spent to fight the fire, which has burned more than 29,839 acres.

In the Seeley Lake area, where 675 homes were evacuated when the Jocko Lakes Fire first began to close in on the resort town on Aug. 3, evacuation orders remained in effect last week, but Highway 83 was open again to traffic, and business was reported returning to "usual."

More than 1,000 firefighters were assigned to the Jocko Lakes Fire area, which is thick with trees and homes. About $13.7 million has been spent on the 34,810-acre fire, which is about 33 percent contained.

The Skyland Fire, which closed U.S. 2 by Marias Pass on July 28 and ran more than 12 miles east, across the Continental Divide into the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, continued to be a problem over the weekend, but it was no longer the nation's No. 1 fire.

The 45,215-acre fire ran out of thick timber as it descended onto the eastern plains country, but southwest winds on Aug. 18 drove the fire across 1,500 more acres to the south. With 471 firefighters on the scene, it is about 50 percent contained at a cost of $15 million.

For more information, visit online at www.inciweb.org or www.fs.fed.us/r1/flathead.