Several small fires in Glacier close part of Inside North Fork Road, trails

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

Glacier National Park has closed some trails and a portion of the Inside North Fork Road from Polebridge down to Logging Creek as it battles several small fires in the region.

The fires aren’t large, about a tenth of an acre or so, but there is one at Grace, Logging, Cummings Meadow and Quartz Lake.

Small fires at Bowman Creek and Big Prairie have been put out. Firefighters were also working on a small blaze on Snyder Ridge. Yesterday, a helicopter made water dumps on the fire, scooping water out of Lake McDonald. Visitors could also see helicopters getting water out of the North Fork of the Flathead today.

As a precaution, the Quartz Lake trail system is closed from both the Inside North Fork Road trailhead and the Bowman Lake trailhead.

The Logging Lake trail is closed from the trailhead to Grace Lake. Logging foot, Adair, Grace, Lower Quartz, and Upper Quartz backcountry campgrounds are currently closed.

The fires were caused by a lightning storm Monday night.

The Gibralter Ridge Fire southeast of Eureka grew overnight. It is now 1,100 acres. A Type II management team is setting up camp today to fight the fire. A public meeting on the blaze is tonight at 5 p.m. at the Eureka High School Auditorium.