Cold front may bring wind, rain

A cold front moving through the Flathead on Friday tantalized officials on area wildfires with the prospect of rain.

"We'll take anything we can get," said Allen Chrisman, a fire management officer on the Flathead National Forest. "Rain at this point is going to help all our fires."

Even a decent amount of rain doesn't necessarily spell the end of fire season.

"A tenth of an inch doesn't get us out of the woods," Chrisman said. "Even after a little bit of moisture, we'll still see fires acting up after things dry out and heat up."

This weekend's cold front could also bring gusty winds and the possibility of lightning.

"Winds are always a concern with dry fuels," said Chrisman. "There are still a lot of dry fuels out there."

And the possibility of lightning means the possibility of new starts.

"But if we get rain with the lightning, hopefully is will hold any new starts," Chrisman said.

Officials on the Chippy Creek Fire, located near Marion, pushed the estimated date of that fire's containment to Monday.

The 90,090 acre blaze was 89 percent contained late Friday.

"In light of some of the weather we're predicted to have, and because the fire is holding at some heavy fuels, we delayed the containment date," said fire information officer Vickie Guthrie.

While the cold front did bring higher winds, it didn't bring much rain, Guthrie said.

"A good inch of rain would radically change all the fires in the area," she said.

While only a spattering of rain fell on the fire camp Friday evening, officials weren't ruling out the possibility of more, Guthrie said late Friday.

Crews continued mop up along the fire line as the fire continued to creep and smolder in the interior. The fire continues to be most active in the northeast corner and along the southwest perimeter near Alder Creek.

Rehabilitation rather than suppression has become the main focus of crews on the Brush Creek Fire. The Brush Creek Fire, contained this week at 29,921 acres, is located about 23 miles southwest of Whitefish.

"They're going like guns," said Ema Braunberger. "We're trying to get as much of it done as quickly as possible."

Crews are repairing damage to trails, constructing water bars across bulldozer lines, and seeding disturbed areas of forest to prevent erosion and degradation of water quality.

Crews also continued mop up operations as clouds dumped a sprinkling of rain on the blaze.

"We had a little bit of rain, but not enough to make any difference," Braunberger said.

The Skyland Fire, 32 miles east of Kalispell, also received only a drizzle Friday.

Crews battled erratic winds as single trees and some stumps torched in the 45,760 acre fire's interior.

A Red Flag warning was in effect Friday as humidities plummeted and winds picked up as the cold front moved in Friday afternoon. The blaze is 75 percent contained.

There are now less than 260 people on the fire as officials continue to divest it of resources. The fire camp west of Marias Pass was dismantled, and the fire will now be managed from Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier.

As fall approaches, the days get shorter, the sun shines with less intensity, and temperatures get cooler at night. All of which will help firefighters get area blazes under control, Chrisman said.

If enough moisture does fall, Forest Service officials will consider pursuing their fall burning program, Chrisman said.

Prescribed burns in the Hungry Horse Ranger District and Swan Lake Ranger District could follow wetting rains over a period of several days later this fall, he said.

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