Fires on the move Blaze nears trigger point for Star Meadows evacuation

By JIM MANN

The Daily Inter Lake

Wildfires in Northwest Montana made big moves Friday, one of them approaching a trigger point to begin evacuation alerts for the Star Meadows area northwest of Kalispell.

Another fire sent up an ominous plume of smoke that sprawled across the Flathead sky as the Chippy Creek Fire north of Thompson Falls exploded from 7,000 to more than 18,000 acres.

Driven by strong winds and low relative humidity, the Brush Creek Fire had covered 5,505 acres as of Friday morning more than 20 miles southwest of Whitefish. An afternoon patrol flight sized it at 7,274 acres.

The Brush Creek Fire, too, sent a large column of smoke Friday into the sky to the west of the Flathead Valley, but this smoke was dwarfed by that of the Chippy Creek Fire.

The fire was considered 5 percent contained in the morning, but fire lines that had been established at the heel of the fire were lost by late afternoon.

Fire information officer Greg Dunn said the firefighting strategy has focused on securing an "anchor" point at the rear of the fire and then advancing flanking fire lines on the northern and southern perimeters to ultimately "pinch" the fire on its leading, northeastern front. He said fire managers will consider using heavy equipment to cut a firebreak well ahead of the leading fire front.

A meeting was held Friday night at the Hope Ranch for residents in the Star Meadows area and the Good Creek drainage. There are 20 primary residences and 30 outbuildings in the Star Meadows area. But as many as 150 structures are in the potential, long-term path of the fire, according to Mark Peck, director of Flathead County's Office of Emergency Services.

By late afternoon, Dunn said it was unclear how far the fire was from a 24-hour trigger point that is about four miles from Star Meadows. If the fire reaches that point, residence will be advised that the fire has potential to reach Star Meadows within 24 hours. There are also 12-hour and four-hour trigger points. The four-hour trigger will result in evacuation orders coordinated by the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.

City and rural fire departments from the Flathead Valley are on standby for structure protection assignments, Peck said.

There were 250 people working on the fire Friday afternoon, along with eight engines, four dozers, four water tankers, and two helicopters. A retardant tanker made 10 drops on the fire. It is being managed by a Type Two incident command team from Florida.

The Chippy Creek Fire is burning about 24 miles north of Thompson Falls and some 35 air miles from Kalispell, but it looked a lot closer Friday afternoon, as it cast an enormous dark plume of smoke that dropped ash over the Flathead Valley. The fire was estimated at 7,000 acres earlier in the day, but it was driven by strong winds to the northeast, more than doubling to an estimated 18,000 acres by Friday evening. The fire crossed the Lolo National Forest boundary and was actively burning on the Flathead Reservation, said Bob Dyson, fire information officer.

"There's nothing imminently threatened," Dyson said.

However, a pre-evacuation notice was issued for the Hubbart Reservoir area, which is about eight miles from the leading front of the fire.

Dyson was unclear whether there are structures at the reservoir or simply campsites.

A Type Two incident command team from Arizona assumed management of the fire at 6 p.m., reporting that the fire is burning in "extreme" terrain, with "extreme" growth potential and continuous timber in its path.

About 12 structures in the Thompson River Valley initially were considered threatened Tuesday, when the fire suddenly emerged. But those structures are at the heel of the fire, where most firefighting efforts have been concentrated.

The Skyland Fire, burning just south of Marias Pass, made wind-driven runs to the southeast, growing from an estimated 19,800 acres Friday morning to 20,621 acres by evening.

"Blowup conditions" on the eastern front of the of the fire prompted firefighters to retreat. Firefighting operations mainly have concentrated on keeping the fire south of U.S. 2, Glacier National Park and steering it away from East Glacier. The Blackfeet Emergency Operations Center issued an evacuation order along the Heart Butte Cutoff Road from U.S. 2 to BIA Route 1.

The road is closed south of Two Medicine Creek, and the order does not apply to the towns of East Glacier and Heart Butte.

There are 889 people working on the fire, along with heavy equipment, engines and aircraft.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com