Skyland Fire out of control
20-mile section of U.S. 2 closes as fuel, wind thwart attempts to contain blaze
Firefighters were pulled off the line and more than 20 miles closed on U.S. 2 when the Skyland Fire blew up Saturday.
"With the temperatures we've had, dry, and the wind up there, it's been busy up there today," Flathead National Forest conservation education specialist Teresa Wenum said Saturday evening.
The fire, located about three miles south of Marias Pass, more than doubled in size Saturday. It had held steady at 420 acres for a couple of days; early Saturday morning, 30 percent of the perimeter was lined.
But southwest winds kicked up at about 9 a.m., driving the flames north and east toward East Glacier. The combination of steady wind and heavy fuels resulted in several spot fires, and the fire made a few short crown runs through the treetops. By late morning, the fire escaped control lines.
Firefighters used retardant and helicopter drops in an attempt to contain the fire, but their efforts were thwarted by the dense fuel and relentless wind. At noon, the fire jumped Skyland Creek. An hour later, another crown fire spread the flames across Skyland Road, and the wind drove the fire rapidly uphill.
By 2:30 p.m., all crews were pulled off the line.
"Once it's doing this, you've just got to back off," fire information officer Dale Warriner said.
It wasn't just for safety's sake, he added. For hours, crews had tried unsuccessfully to control the fire. With winds still driving the flames Saturday afternoon and evening, there was no point keeping them on the line, Warriner said.
On Saturday evening, the fire still was spreading rapidly and the smoke plume was visible from the valley. Warriner estimated it to be at least 1,000 acres and 2 percent contained.
"I think we'll be surprised" at how big it is when it's mapped, he said.
U.S. 2 was closed at 6 p.m. from mile markers 208 and 209 at Midvale Creek Bridge to mile marker 185 at Middle Fork Campground just outside Glacier National Park. Officials issued an evacuation recommendation at Summit Lodge at the same time.
The Lewis and Clark National Forest closed an area east of the Skyland Fire. On the Flathead National Forest, the Skyland Road area closure is still in effect.
Fire officials are expecting similar fire behavior today, with hot temperatures and even more wind.
"We'll have to look at it in the morning and see if there's an opportunity to get in there and do some good," Warriner said Saturday night. "It's burning in real thick timber right now; it's almost crazy to go in after it with thick timber like that. It'd be no use.
"We've just got to find opportunities and take advantage of them."
The Garceau Fire southwest of Polson was "fairly active" Saturday, fire information officer Jill Cobb said, but it grew very little.
On Saturday night, the fire was mapped at 3,045 acres, up from 2,800 the day before. It is 50 percent contained.
"That increase in acreage was not only due to the fire activity," Cobb said. "Some of it was due to improved mapping."
Most fire activity took place in draws where large timber typically is located, she said. "That's been carrying the fire."
Crews built three miles of line Saturday, and single-engine air tankers and helicopters helped firefighters hold the line and check the fire's spread. Two hotshot crews, wildland firefighting's elite teams, are currently on the line.
Fire officials anticipate an active fire beginning early today. Relative humidity is expected to drop even lower, while temperatures remain high and winds increase.
Six new fires were discovered on the Flathead National Forest on Friday and Saturday. All were lightning-caused; all but two are less than an acre in size.
The Brush Creek Fire, west of Sylvia Lake near Tepee Mountain, was detected Friday afternoon. Fire crews, helicopters and retardant drops have helped check the fire, which is estimated at 45 acres.
Two new fires were spotted Saturday on the Spotted Bear Ranger District in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Four smokejumpers were sent to the Little Salmon Fire, which burned less than a tenth of an acre northwest of Big Salmon Lake. The size of the Amphitheater Mountain Fire southwest of Salt Mountain near the White River is estimated at 10 acres.
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Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.