North Lake fire contained; fires near Hungry Horse still raging

The human-caused wildfire on the north end of Whitefish Lake in the Stillwater State Forest was contained last week.

The fire, named North Lake, was at 90% containment as of Thursday. The size is 11 acres of spotty fuel consumption within an 18-acre perimeter, according to the Montana Department of Natural Resources.

On Thursday, officials said they were performing mop-up operations and were continuing to look for any undetected spot fires. There was a 20-person hand crew, type five engine and a water tender and dozer working the scene.

DNRC said the fire behavior was minimal — it was producing smoke due to smoldering surface fuels and stump holes.

On Saturday, July 29, the human-caused fire was sparked by equipment in a dry hayfield north of Delrey Road and spread into forested areas of the Stillwater State Forest. Fire crews were quick to jump on the wildfire with a heavy aerial and ground attack that knocked down the initial blaze that evening.

The fire was initially detected by the Werner Peak Lookout. The aerial support was dispatched Saturday at 1 p.m., including Type 1, 2 and 3 helicopters. Five engines, two water tenders, a hand crew and hotshot crew also assisted.

The fire picked up again on Monday afternoon, July 31, but crews quickly had it under control.

Structures and homes were within the vicinity of the fire, but no evacuations were issued.

Elsewhere in the Flathead, the Ridge Fire above Emery Bay on the Hungry Horse Reservoir grew substantially in the past week and is expected to get even bigger in the next few days.

As of press time, the fire was about 2,778 acres. There is a large area around the fire that is closed to public access, most notably the Desert Mountain Road and the East Side Reservoir Road. The West Side Reservoir Road is now closed at mile marker 15 near the Lid Creek campground, due to another series of fires burning called the Tin Soldier complex. Hungry Horse Reservoir is also closed to boating as of Tuesday morning.

The Tin Soldier complex on the west side of the reservoir on Kah Mountain, Bruce Ridge in the Sullivan Creek area has also grown to more than 2,500 acres.

The fire has closed down access to the Bob Marshall Wilderness at Spotted Bear and the Meadow Creek Gorge.

The Tin Soldier Complex and the Ridge Fire were both started by lightning.

Fire danger in Flathead County is rated “extreme” and the county and Whitefish are both in Stage 2 fire restrictions.