Rains help slow fires

Recent rains, higher humidities and lower temperatures have put a damper on fires still burning in Northwest Montana.

About a half inch of rain was recorded Wednesday at Spotted Bear and the Big Prairie Ranger station in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, where the 4,100-acre Big Salmon Lake Fire and the 5,100-acre Hammer Creek Fire have been burning for the last few weeks.

“It’s quieted things down quite a lot,” said Seth Carbonari, fire management officer on the Spotted Bear Ranger District. “Both fires are fairly inactive right now with the precipitation. There’s been no growth in the last couple of days.”

There was a similar effect on the South Fork Lost Creek Fire, which has burned 1,681 acres just outside the wilderness about seven miles south of Swan Lake.

Carbonari said fire activity could pick up over the next week.

“We’re looking at getting another warm and drying trend over the next week,” he said. “We’ll see what kind of activity picks up.”

The Wednesday weather system delivered a volley of lightning in the Flathead Valley, but Thursday there were only a handful of smoke reports that were checked out by fire-protection agencies.