Fire near Perma doubles in size

A wildfire that erupted Sunday in the southwest corner of the Flathead Indian

Reservation doubled in size Monday, driven by high winds.

A wildfire that erupted Sunday in the southwest corner of the Flathead Indian Reservation doubled in size Monday, driven by high winds.

The Seepay 2 fire was first spotted by a Forest Service lookout at 11:35 a.m. Sunday. Winds picked up, and by late afternoon the fire had grown to 1,600 acres, said Germaine White, a fire information officer for the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes.

Similar winds fanned the fire to at least 3,000 acres by Monday afternoon, White said.

"We had hoped for 5-15 mph wind, but the wind was blowing 20 mph-plus throughout the day," she said.

The fire is burning to the north and east, along the Flathead River and Montana 200. About half the fire has moved through terrain with scattered ponderosa pine and grass, while the rest of the fire is burning in heavy timber.

"It is an area with important timber resource values to the tribes," White said.

Although the fire is moving in the opposite direction, it is within a half mile of several occupied homes in the tiny town of Perma. Firefighting resources are on hand to protect those structures, White said.

So far, the fire response includes hand crews, fire engines, skidgens, water tenders and several helicopters, along with single engine air tankers and a heavy air tanker with a lead plane.

A Type II incident command team from North Idaho was scheduled to assume management of the fire by this morning.