Chopper helps quell fire

Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake West Valley firefighters watch as a Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation helicopter drops water Tuesday afternoon on a grass fire off of Farm to Market Road west of Kalispell. Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in Kalispell, Montana.

Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake A firefighter walks through a burned field Tuesday afternoon at a grass fire off of Farm to Market Road west of Kalispell. Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in Kalispell, Montana.

Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake A Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation helicopter drops water Tuesday afternoon on a grass fire off of Farm to Market Road west of Kalispell. Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in Kalispell, Montana.

by The Daily Inter Lake
| August 14, 2012 6:00 PM

The Daily Inter Lake

A state helicopter quickly pounded down a wind-driven wildfire that threatened structures west of Kalispell on Tuesday afternoon.

As multiple fire departments provided protection to a couple of houses and several farm buildings off Farm-to-Market Road, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s helicopter made dozens of rapid water drops, filling a bucket at a nearby pond.

The fire started in a field at about 2 p.m.

Driven by stiff winds, the fire pushed into timber and thick brush in a gully behind a farmhouse.

West Valley Fire Chief Russ Sappington estimated the fire burned about 10 acres in the field, leaving blackened stubble, before it was limited in the timber and brush.

Firefighters stood by waiting for the helicopter to finish its work before entering the brush.

“It’s going to be faster and safer for him to hit that real hard,” Sappington said of the helicopter pilot. “But we’re going to have to go in on foot and hit the hot spots.”

Sappington said he had yet to discuss the cause of the fire with the person who owns the field.

“I’ll have to ask him about what happened,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t intentional.”