Fires churning away

Wildfires in the Bob Marshall Wilderness have spread rapidly over the last couple of days, and an aerial burnout operation is planned today on a fire burning just outside the wilderness southeast of Swan Lake.

In just one day after it was detected, the Big Salmon Lake Fire went on a wind- and fuel-driven rampage Wednesday, growing to 2,300 acres. The fire started near the north shore of Big Salmon Lake, burning upslope to the northeast in heavy timber.

It has a high potential for growth toward the South Fork Flathead River, prompting multiple trail closures and efforts to protect the Salmon Forks Cabin, the Salmon Forks suspension bridge and the Little Salmon Bridge.

But with considerable cloud cover and less wind Thursday, fire activity slowed considerably.

“There’s been very little growth on Big Salmon Lake today,” Spotted Bear District Ranger Deb Mucklow said Thursday afternoon. “There’s pretty good cloud cover and very minimal growth.”

Conversely, there was wind and significant burning activity Thursday on the Hammer Creek Fire that is burning north of the Big Prairie Ranger Station, which is about 40 miles south of Spotted Bear.

The Hammer Creek Fire was estimated at 1,000 acres Thursday afternoon.

“There was some wind on the Hammer Creek Fire and as a result we have some spot fires on the west side of the South Fork Flathead River,” Mucklow said.

The main trail on the east side of the river has been closed because of the fire, so there has been a concerted effort to suppress the fire on the west side of the river to prevent a closure of the other main trail in the South Fork travel corridor.

Mucklow said there is a concern that the Big Salmon Lake Fire, burning farther to the north in the wilderness, eventually could pose a threat of crossing that corridor.

Helicopters that were being used in firefighting efforts on the South Fork Lost Creek Fire seven miles southeast of Swan Lake have been diverted to both the wilderness fires over the last couple of days.

Mucklow said another wilderness fire was detected Thursday about six miles southeast of Big Prairie. “We have deployed smokejumpers on it and they will take direct suppression action,” Mucklow said.

The South Fork Lost Creek Fire was last estimated at more than 700 acres and is considered 10 percent contained.

“Today’s fire behavior was pretty quiet,” said Pat Cross, a fire information officer with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. “We’ve had cloud cover and that’s kept the fire down.”

The human-caused fire started along the South Lost Creek Road on Aug. 13 and quickly burned upslope into heavy timber.

Fire bosses are planning a burnout operation today to stop the fire on its eastern flank. About 200 acres will be burned and considerable smoke is expected, Cross said.

“If the weather lines up and we get all the moving parts in place, we plan to use aerial ignition from a helicopter and a burnout from the road,” Cross said. “We’re just trying to button up that southeast corner of the fire.”

The fire has prompted two road closures and five trail closures in the area.

There are 188 people working on the fire, along with helicopters and engines. It’s estimated cost is $1.3 million so far.

Mucklow requested that forest users planning to travel in areas near the fires contact Forest Service offices to learn about trail closures.

Meanwhile, the 10-acre Peters Ridge Fire just above the Flathead Valley is mostly contained and fire crews are beginning mop-up work.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.