Wildfires break out in valley

A wildfire broke out Friday afternoon on the southern slope of Lion Mountain in Whitefish.

It burned about one tenth of an acre of trees and grassland before crews from the Whitefish Fire Department and Department of Natural Resources contained it.

Open flames became visible from the mountain's base at about 4:30 p.m., but a plume of smoke had been spotted some time earlier.

The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation sent three engines and a helicopter, but the helicopter was not used.

Firefighters were mopping the blaze up by 6 p.m.

The mountain is both heavily populated and heavily wooded. However, there were no injuries and no damage to property.

The fire's cause is still under investigation.

On Thursday, just hours after firefighters got control of a wildfire on Orchard Ridge Road, another fire broke out north of Lake Five between Coram and West Glacier.

The 1.5-acre fire burned forest and grassland in several spots, said Allen Chrisman, the U.S. Forest Service's fire program leader for Flathead National Forest.

It was contained by about noon Friday, he said. No injuries or property damage was reported.

The fire's smoke plume was first spotted about 7 p.m. Thursday by a Forest Service firefighter on the ground. The Forest Service already had a spotter plane in the air to observe the then-dying Orchard Ridge Road fire, so assessment of the new fire and agency response was quick, said Chrisman.

"We responded with an aggressive initial attack," said Chrisman. "When you see smoke, you've got to go find its cause, especially this time of year."

Forest Service firefighters, the West Glacier Fire Department, and the Coram Fire Department responded to the blaze, which occurred on private land under Forest Service fire protection.

A Department of Natural Resources helicopter carrying a 300 gallon water bucket also responded and made several drops.

"That helicopter made a difference in the fire's potential," said Chrisman. "Its use was huge."

Crews largely extinguished the fire late Thursday, but continued to monitor the fire throughout the night with units on hand to knock down any hot spots.

"We didn't want to leave it untended," Chrisman said. "Not with a fire in an urban interface with weather conditions like they are."

Firefighters resumed controlling the fire Friday morning.

The cause is still under investigation, a human cause is suspected, said Chrisman.

The Flathead County Sheriff's Office also issued a red-flag warning to go into effect from noon to midnight Friday. A red-flag warning means critical fire weather conditions are in effect or will be shortly. Warnings are issued when low relative humidity, high temperatures, and high winds create an explosive fire-growth potential.

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