Inversion makes for productive day on fires

The inversion held most of the day Friday, leading to productive days for crews on local fires.

At the Chippy Creek Fire south of Kalispell, however, the inversion lifted at about 1 p.m., giving the flames opportunity to spread.

By Friday evening, the fire was sized at 89,823 acres.

"It got hotter, drier, and the humidity's dropped," fire information officer Jennifer Plyler said. "And the winds picked up with that."

Crews spent the day preparing several areas around the fire for burnout. As long as the wind continues, crews won't be able to do burnouts, Plyler said.

When it calms, however, they are ready for burning operations in the southwest corner of the fire, near the north fork of Little Thompson Creek. Firefighters did some burnout there a few nights ago, Plyler said, and currently are trying to tie it into an already-completed dozer line.

Crews did similar work in the Big Rock Creek Road area, south of Hubbard Reservoir and near the Little Thompson River.

"They're trying to prep for burnout where there's already an established line," Plyler said. "They're burning back into the fire so it's under our conditions, not the fire's conditions."

Crews aren't sure what to expect today, she said.

"They're saying that we're getting a cold front in. We're hoping for the cloud cover to stay instead of heating up, to have cooler temperatures," she said. "But it wasn't expected to get this hot this afternoon.

"We'll see what happens."

Lower temperatures have helped keep the Brush Creek Fire southwest of Whitefish relatively calm during the day, fire information officer Annaleasa Winter said. It has been most active at night for the past few days.

"We've had a good break in the weather for the past couple of days, with the inversion lifting late in the day, around 7 p.m.," she said.

When the inversion lifts, fire activity picks up, so crews have seen some torching and higher flame lengths.

"During the day, though, there's been no major spread," Winter said. "During the day, we've been able to make really good progress getting close to it for direct attack with our hand crews and our dozer crews."

Helicopters have assisted with those efforts, she added, dropping water on hot spots.

Today's primary focus will be constructing a fireline between Fox Mountain and Swaney Ridge on the northeast section of the fire, she said. A cold front may bring gusty winds tonight.

"Hopefully we'll be able to hold the line between those ridges," Winter said. "We want to connect a good, solid line before the front comes in."

Rain isn't in the immediate forecast, but crews are expecting an increase in cloud cover and relative humidity. Even a few points' increase in relative humidity would aid firefighters, she said.

Evacuation orders at Star Meadow and Good Creek remain in effect.

Several resources have been released from the Skyland Fire south of Marias Pass, as favorable weather conditions have slowed the fire's growth. It grew just more than 800 acres Friday and was estimated at 41,857 acres Friday evening.

Most of that increase is the result of burnout operations on the Lewis and Clark National Forest along the fire's southern front, fire information officer Doug Parker said.

"It's been pretty quiet," he said.

Crews anticipate the same thing today, he added. Temperatures should remain in the low 80s, and relative humidity is expected to climb slightly to 25 percent.

"Things are looking pretty good as long as the weather stays in our favor," Parker said.

Firefighters will continue the burnout operations as wind allows, he added.

"We see it as three sides of the box are in good control, and we're trying to wrap up that fourth side," he said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com