Wildfire contained Saturday

By NICHOLAS LEDDEN

The Daily Inter Lake

Blaze burns 170 acres near Lake Mary Ronan

Three agencies and more than 100 firefighters Saturday battled a wildfire near the Plum Creek timberland and Lake Mary Ronan.

Named the Hog Heaven Fire, it consumed about 170 acres before it was contained at about 5 p.m., said Tony Harwood, the fire management officer for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Crews had already begun mopping up portions of the blaze Saturday evening, and Harwood expects the whole burn to be controlled by 8 p.m. today.

A force of 100 Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, tribal, and privately contracted firefighters will remain at the fire site until this evening, Harwood said.

The wildfire was first spotted at about 9 p.m. Friday by a lookout at the Bassoo observation tower in the northwest corner of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Three helicopters helped fight the blaze, each making several runs to Lake Mary Ronan.

Officials think the blaze was caused by a lightning strike during Tuesday's storm, Harwood said. After the weather dried out a bit and the wind picked up, the smoldering hot spot ignited a group of trees and began to spread, he said.

"We expect other holdover fires to become a problem over the next couple of days," Harwood said. "We expect to be pretty busy."

The fire burned a mixture of timber and grassland.

"It was in a pretty open area, but it sure burned hot," Harwood said.

No property was damaged, and no injuries were reported.

Wildfire control agencies also fought three smaller fires Saturday afternoon.

Crews used a flame retardant to master a 2 acre blaze near Coal Creek in the North Fork area, and helicopter crews helped douse a quarter-acre fire near Zip's Cabin, about 45 miles east of Hungry Horse. That fire was contained early Saturday afternoon.

Officials also are monitoring a small start at Yew Creek near Crane Mountain, about 15 miles southeast of Bigfork.

The Forest Service and Department of Natural Resources and Conservation conducted detection flights early Saturday morning and again at about 4 p.m.

Very hot and very dry conditions are expected to prevail over Northwestern Montana today, resulting in favorable fire-growth conditions, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures in Flathead County are expected to reach into the mid-90s throughout the week.

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