Where there's smoke

By NICHOLAS LEDDEN

The Daily Inter Lake

Light smoke rolled across much of the Flathead on Thursday for the second day in a row.

Smoke from burning in the interior of the Brush Creek and Chippy Creek fires was lifted by warmer air and then forced to settle back into the valley by a morning inversion, fire officials said.

Crews on the Chippy Creek Fire achieved 87 percent containment Thursday as firefighters worked to mop up areas inside the fire line. The fire continues to creep and smolder throughout the interior, with some late afternoon torching.

They also conducted a burnout on the fire's northern flank and made progress near Alder Creek on the blaze's southwest corner, said fire information officer David Early.

"It was a good day today," Early said. "They're making progress, but slowly."

The fire is still expected to be fully contained by Saturday.

However, a cold front this weekend could bring gusty winds and there is potential for fire activity to kick up, Early said.

"But there is moisture associated with it, we hope," Early added. "It's kind of a critical time. That's why we're keeping our resources right where they are until the front passes."

Crews also worked on re-contouring and re-vegetating bulldozer lines.

"We try to make it look like they never disturbed the ground," Early said.

Firefighters on the Brush Creek fire observed minimal activity inside the perimeter Thursday, but what little there was proved enough to float smoke into the valley.

"We're going to have smoke in this area for quite a while yet," said fire information officer Ludie Ehlers, who added that some of the smoke may have come from fires in Idaho. "But our fire is still burning on the interior, and smoke is always an aftereffect of wildfire."

Crews continued suppression activities around the perimeter and stepped up rehabilitation efforts. Mop up operations will continue until the burned fuel is cool to the touch 300 feet in from the fire line.

The Brush Creek Fire was fully contained earlier this week.

Crews on the Brush Creek are also keeping an eye on this weekend's expected cold front, especially because lightning is a possibility, Ehlers said.

Some roads in the Brush and Sheppard Creek drainages were closed because of heavy fire traffic.

The Skyland Fire remained at 45,760 acres Thursday even as higher winds lower humidity prompted officials to issue a Red Flag warning for the area.

Crews, engines and water tenders were repositioned throughout the day to combat any flare ups. But any winds that hit the active southern portions of the fire pushed flames into an already burned section.

Containment remained at 75 percent.

However, enough progress had been made to open the Skyland Road and Forest Road #569 on the Flathead National Forest.

There are 258 people on the blaze as officials continue to steadily divest the fire of resources.

In what is perhaps a sign of successful suppression, there are no longer any evacuated areas on the Chippy Creek, Skyland, or Brush Creek Fires. Some roads are still closed due to heavy traffic.

Progress was also made on other wildland fires across northwest Montana on Thursday. The Ahorn Fire, now at 48,703 acres, is 15 percent contained and the Fool Creek Fire, now at 56,500 acres, is still 20 percent contained. Both those fires are in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

The Conger Fire, about 20 miles north of Ovando, is still 21,000 acres and 0 percent contained. The Jocko Lakes Fire, 35,195 acres and 56 percent contained, now has less than 900 people working on it.

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