Fire roars to 76,000 acres
Chippy Creek Fire becomes largest in Northwest Montana since 1929
By JIM MANN
The Daily Inter Lake
After a major surge to the north on Sunday, the Chippy Creek Fire has now burned over 76,000 acres, making it the largest fire in Northwest Montana since the 1929 Half Moon Fire.
That notoriety had belonged to the 71,000-acre Moose Fire, which cut a 20-mile swath from the Whitefish Divide into Glacier National Park in the summer of 2001.
The Half Moon Fire erupted just west of Columbia Falls, burning east over Teakettle Mountain and into Glacier National Park's Apgar Village and the nearby Belton Hills. When it was over, the fire's perimeter stretched over 23 miles, covering 103,000 acres.
The Chippy Creek Fire was sized at 62,985 acres on Sunday morning, but low humidities and steady winds pushed the fire north into heavy timber in the afternoon, sending a dark smoke plume over the Flathead Valley.
Initially, fire managers estimated the fire had grown to 66,785 acres. But by Monday morning, the size-up was changed to 76,000 acres - a single-day expansion of 13,000 acres. The fire has crossed the Sanders-Flathead county line at two locations and its northeasterly front was about 3 miles from a subdivision just south of Hubbart Reservoir and about 17 miles from Blacktail Mountain.
On Monday, the fire continued to burn actively in timber along the northern perimeter, said fire information officer Bernie Pineta.
"It is chewing up some real estate" in terrain where containment lines are distant. A Monday night aerial survey should show growth beyond 76,000 acres, he said.
With a heavy smoke inversion settling in Monday, afternoon fire behavior was substantially calmer on other fires in Northwest Montana.
The Brush Creek Fire, burning about 23 miles southwest of Whitefish, simmered down Monday after a lively Sunday, when the fire jumped containment lines on the northwest perimeter.
"The fire is a lot less active than it was yesterday, when it made a strong run to the northwest of Dunsire Point," said Bill Swartley, fire information officer. "It was basically small-acreage growth, but it was in some of the most rugged terrain along the entire fire perimeter."
The fire grew by several hundred acres to a late-Monday size-up of 26,421 acres.
Swartley said the wind-driven slop-over to the northwest was stopped mostly by a heavy bombardment of water and retardant from helicopters and air tankers.
Throughout Monday, firefighters also picked up multiple spot fires that emerged north of containment lines along the northern perimeter. Containment lines aimed at preventing the fire from moving toward homes in the Good Creek drainage and in Star Meadow have held up, Swartley said.
"All things considered, it was a successful day, being able to contain the fire with that much wind," Swartley said.
The fire is considered 65 percent contained, with 546 people assigned.
Fierce winds, with gusts reaching 64 mph, fanned the Skyland Fire south of Marias Pass on Sunday, but the fire was held inside containment lines on most fronts and fire behavior calmed substantially on Monday.
"Sunday was a rough day, but today appeared to be much better," said Pat Cleary, fire information officer. "We didn't the same level of winds, we had higher humidities and lower temperatures and that all worked in our favor."
Most of Sunday's fire activity was confined to pockets of unburned timber within containment lines on the perimeter. Even with the severe fire behavior, lines were advanced and reinforced and the fire is now considered 56 percent contained.
In recent days, growth on the 40,500-acre fire has mostly been confined to rugged terrain on the southern perimeter, where firefighters have been using fireline explosives to blast stretches of containment line.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com