Buttoning up Baldy Fire
A helicopter dumps water over a forested area west of Lakeside Monday afternoon. Crews on the ground were able to continue building line around the fire's perimeter, containing 60 percent of the 220-acre fire. (Nate Chute/Daily Inter Lake)
Firefighters have tightened their grip on the Baldy Fire west of Lakeside, and an incoming cold front is expected to help with firefighting efforts across Western Montana today.
The 220-acre Baldy Fire was considered 60 percent contained Monday afternoon.
"It's going really good," Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan said. "They will probably have the thing wrapped up in the next couple of days."
The fire had prompted a pre-evacuation notice for about 160 homes just west of Lakeside in the Stoner Creek and Bierney Creek drainages. Most residents chose not to leave, Meehan said.
Firelines were cut into the western and eastern flanks of the fire. Helicopter water drops and air-tanker retardant drops have been concentrated on the east flank of the fire to prevent it from moving toward Lakeside in the Stoner Creek drainage.
The eastern flank of the fire is about two miles from Lakeside.
On Monday, fire crews burned out vegetation between the northwest perimeter of the fire and control lines. Another public information meeting was held Monday night at the Lakeside Community Chapel.
Additional fire crews arrived late Sunday to help with suppression activities, including building lines around the perimeter of the fire.
The cause of the fire that erupted Saturday still is under investigation.
Firefighting efforts are being directed by Flathead National Forest, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and Flathead County.
On Saturday, as the fire roared into the night on Baldy Mountain, 13 local volunteer fire departments responded to provide protection to homes near the fire.
No structures burned during the Baldy Fire.
Separately, the Ninko Creek Fire has burned about 500 acres in the Whale Creek drainage 40 miles north of Columbia Falls.
The fire's eastern surge over the weekend, however, was stalled when it reached the area burned by the 2003 Wedge Canyon Fire, said Rick Connell, fire management officer for the Flathead National Forest.
"It stopped it," Connell said. "So it's contained between the ridge on the north and the road on the south side and the Wedge Fire to the east and the hand line that we put in on the west side of the fire."
The fire is burning on extremely steep slopes on the northern side of the east-west Whale Creek drainage. About 35 people, including the Flathead Hot Shots, three engine crews and two helicopters, are assigned to the fire.
Connell said activity on Ninko Creek and other fires in Western Montana should be slowed further by a weather front today that's expected to drop temperatures 10 to 15 degrees and raise relative humidities. There is a 20 percent chance of rain in the Flathead area.
The predicted high temperature in the Flathead Valley today is 62 degrees, with highs in the 50s the next two days, according to the National Weather Service.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com