Red Eagle blaze has burned 30,000 acres

The Daily Inter Lake

Tuesday s blowup of the Red Eagle fire in Glacier National Park was substantially larger than first estimated, but firefighters continue to increase containment of the fire.

The fire s expansion into three park drainages was first estimated to have resulted in a 1,000-acre increase to a total area of 28,500 acres. The fire is now mapped at 30,000 acres, with the increase attributed to Tuesday s fire activity that sent up a huge smoke plume visible from the Flathead Valley.

The fire growth was anticipated by fire managers who were relying on a confinement strategy that made use of steep, rocky ridges to contain the fire in the three drainages.

No structures were threatened and Glacier Park officials supported the strategy, largely for regenerating stands of whitebark pine, a fire-dependent tree species that has been in decline for decades in the park.

The fire is now considered 70 percent contained, with firefighting efforts largely concentrated on preventing expansion on the Blackfeet Reservation near St. Mary.

All visitor facilities are open in St. Mary and on the east side of Glacier Park.