Fires grow steadily in wilderness

As area project fires are contained or approach containment, several smaller, more isolated fires in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex continue to steadily grow.

The Corporal Fire near the remote Spotted Bear Ranger Station has more than doubled in size since the end of August.

That fire, now 14 percent contained, covers an area of 11,603 acres.

Firefighters are directly attacking the fire's west side to keep it from moving into the South Fork Flathead River drainage. Crews also are trying to keep it from wrapping around the top of Spotted Bear Mountain, said fire management officer Seth Carbonari.

"We've been very successful," Carbonari said. "It has spotted over numerous times, but we have been able to knock it back each time."

The Conger Fire, about 20 miles north of Ovando, has grown to 22,100 acres as crews attempted Wednesday to slow its advance in the Falls Creek drainage. Firefighters also worked to knock down a three-acre spot fire ahead of the main fire's advance.

The Railley Mountain Fire, about 13 miles northeast of the Seeley Lake Ranger Station, is 20,669 acres and the Calbick Fire, about 20 miles northeast of the Spotted Bear Ranger Station, is 854 acres.

The Railley Mountain Fire was detected at the end of July and the Calbick Fire in mid-August.

While all the above fires have been targeted to some extent for direct suppression, others are slated for "wildland fire use" purposes.

The Amphitheatre Fire and the Turtlehead Fire, both about 22 miles southeast of the Spotted Bear Ranger Station in the Bob Marshall, are being allowed to burn more naturally. They have grown to 337 acres and 1,310 acres, respectively.

But "wildland fire use" doesn't mean those fires are just allowed to burn. There is a plan.

"We have active management and a strategy for each fire," Spotted Bear District Ranger Deb Mucklow said.

"When we have decided to suppress, we have been very successful in our initial attacks this summer," she said.

For wilderness fires, success is often measured in terms of keeping the fire to its natural boundaries.

Firefighters adopt a confinement strategy, identifying places to keep the fire away from, rather than the full perimeter containment strategy used on fires outside wilderness areas.

Some fires such as the Corporal Fire require a combination of both.

"I think progress, couched in those terms, has been great," said Jim Flint, an assistant fire management officer on the Spotted Bear Ranger District. "When you talk about progress on these fires, you're talking about long-term management."

In deciding how to fight wilderness fires, officials take into account location, stage of the fire season, topography, access, and number and type of structures at risk.

"Ideally in the wilderness, natural processes are supposed to occur," said Dale Luhman, a fire information officer for the Flathead National Forest.

But officials must balance natural processes with public safety when fire threatens homes, businesses, and heavily traveled areas.

"We evaluate each fire as it comes along," said Luhman.

All the fires in the Spotted Bear Ranger District currently burning have started naturally, officials said.

While wilderness fires tend to threaten fewer people, they do threaten hunting seasons.

"In my mind, one of the most complicated parts of it is trail closures and public protection," said Flathead National Forest Fire Management Officer Allen Chrisman.

Between 70 and 76 miles of wilderness trails has had fire on it, officials said. And every mile of those trails has to be worked on, evaluated and cleared for safety.

"We are trying to minimize the impact on the upcoming fire season," Mucklow said. "And as conditions change, we will react quickly, too."

Officials also keep in mind how much wilderness closed by fire will affect private hunters and outfitters, Chrisman said.

"We could have more people hunting in areas that don't normally get that many people," he said.

Bow hunting season has already started, and the wilderness rifle hunting season begins Sept. 15.

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