New fires flare up

The Elbow Pass Fire Complex has grown to about 8,000 acres, prompting an evacuation order for the Benchmark Road corridor east of Augusta, and some other new fires have been detected in and around the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

The complex involves three fires that merged over the last three days, burning toward Benchmark Road, an area outside the wilderness with cabins.

Meanwhile, a new fire was detected about 12 miles northeast of the Spotted Bear Ranger Station and Glacier National Park has responded to two small fires since Tuesday.

Another fire that was detected Tuesday about 35 miles southeast of Condon, the Bar Creek Fire, has grown to 70 acres, prompting structure protection measures at the Forest Service’s Danaher administrative cabin.

The Condon Mountain Fire has been held at 15 acres four miles northeast of Condon, and the Prisoner Lake Fire 25 miles east of Condon grew rapidly to 3,024 acres on Monday, but there has been little growth since then.

All of those fires are believed to have been sparked by lightning over last weekend.

The Rapid Creek Fire is still at least two miles away from the Benchmark Road area in northern Lewis and Clark County, and must cross rocky terrain to actually threaten any structures.

But the decision to evacuate was made as a precautionary measure because there is only one way in and out of the area, Lewis and Clark County Deputy Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Jim Hyatt said Wednesday.

There are 55 structures, mostly non-primary residences such as cabins, plus 20 outbuildings in the evacuation zone. Hyatt said he did not know how many people are affected by the order.

Helicopters were able to start dropping water from buckets on the blaze Wednesday after smoke prevented them from doing so the day before.

Hot and dry weather followed by erratic winds are forecast for the next few days and could present a challenge to firefighters, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Marianne Baumberger said.

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in Kalispell said that there have been numerous illegal debris fires in the Flathead area recently.

The outdoor burning season ended on July 1, and fire managers recently elevated the local fire danger to “high.”

The department advises the public not to leave campfires unattended, to use caution with any outdoor industrial operations, and for motorists to make sure that chains on vehicles are secure and not dragging.

For details on major fires and areas affected by them, go to www.inciweb.org.