New fire brings another plume

Another Montana wildfire sprung up 22 miles north of Thompson Falls along Thompson Falls Road on Tuesday evening. The plume of smoke was clearly visible in Kalispell, about 60 miles away.

Initial attacks on that blaze, called the Semem Creek Fire, went into the evening, according to Department of Natural Resources and Conservation fire information officer Paula Rosenthal.

The fire had already consumed 30-40 acres of timber and logging slash when it was reported Tuesday at about 2 p.m.

By 7 p.m., the main fire had absorbed a 10-acre spot blaze it had thrown ahead of itself and spread to 300 acres, an estimate that Rosenthal called conservative.

The fire was estimated to have reached 500 acres at 9 p.m., she said.

"It grew pretty rapidly with [Tuesday] afternoon's hot dry weather," she said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

There are some cabins located about a mile south of the fire, but the blaze is moving north, Rosenthal said.

The initial attack included three helicopters, three single-engine air tankers and three heavy air tankers. The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, U.S. Forest Service and local fire departments all had crews on scene.

The Brush Creek Fire expanded to 2,200 acres Tuesday afternoon.

Three 20-person ground crews battled the blaze, located 29 miles west of Whitefish and 20 miles north of Marion, as aircraft made numerous drops of fire suppressant and water.

"Our crews on the ground have had a lot of air support," said Teresa Wenum, a fire information officer with the Flathead National Forest.

Firefighters worked on the fire's western edge Tuesday as the blaze spilled over into the Kootenai National Forest.

They were pulled back in the afternoon as winds increased, whipping up the fire and causing it to behave erratically.

Fire managers at the Brush Creek wildfire also briefed a Type Two incident management team from Florida on Tuesday afternoon. The team will transition with fire managers today and assume responsibility for the fire Thursday.

Fire managers, in coordination with the Flathead County of Emergency Services, also completed an evacuation plan for the Star Meadows area, east of the fire. The plan outlines management actions and timelines to give residents adequate time to leave.

No evacuations have been ordered, and the fire is still about 7 miles west of Star Meadows.

Authorities will hold a public meeting at the Hope Ranch off Star Meadow Road at 7 p.m. to discuss the fire.

Started by a lightning strike on July 27, the Brush Creek Fire is moving north and northeast, Wenum said.

Crews on the Garceau Fire, located 11 miles southwest of Polson, continued to work its active northwest edge Tuesday.

Firefighters achieved 75 percent containment, holding the fire's burn area to 3,045 acres, fire information officer Terina Mullen said.

"We're doing really well over here," she said.

Crews had to contend with stiff winds, but prevented the fire from jumping over containment lines.

There were a few flare-ups inside the perimeter, but they were quickly knocked down with bucket drops, Mullen said. They are also continuing to remove hazard trees.

"We're happy to say that we've had no spots jump over the line," Mullen said.

There are 354 firefighters, one helicopter, 19 engines, six bulldozers and 10 water tenders assigned to the fire.

Crews also continued to mop up portions of the burned area around the fire's footprint, Mullen said. The fire was caused by lightning on July 24.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com