Hotshot crews focus on Sun Road mop-up

Officials with Glacier National Park and the team battling the Reynolds Creek Fire expect that the Going-to-the-Sun Road east of Logan Pass will open in the not-too-distant future.

Denise Germann, a park spokeswoman, said Thursday that she anticipates the road will be fully open to the public before the end of summer.

“When we say ‘summer’, I believe it’s going to be sooner rather than later,” Germann said.

But with a significant portion of the scenic thoroughfare’s east side crossing through the nearly 4,000-acre burn area, visitors will need to heed precautions to keep themselves safe — along with any firefighters still working in the area.

“I would anticipate that when the road reopens to access, there would be no stopping or parking within the fire perimeter,” Germann noted. “I would also anticipate there would still be smoke on the road, so there are safety messages we would want to provide to visitors.”

Some trail closures along the road corridor would also likely continue through the rest of the season, as fire officials expect that portions of the fire will continue burning until the first snows fall.

Even with the restrictions, however, those driving through the recently scorched areas in Glacier will be treated to an opportunity to experience the fire ecosystem in action. Some hardy vegetation, like beargrass, has already begun greening up the blackened areas within the fire, and park employees and firefighters have reported numerous animals such as bears and deer making their return.

“I think it’s an opportunity for the public to see the rebirth and regrowth that happens in a burned area,” Germann said.

Cooler temperatures and high humidity this week have helped the firefighting effort, and incident management team spokesman Mike Cole said Thursday that three hotshot crews were pulled off the fire’s eastern edge to speed up the mop-up process along the popular Sun Road.

“When you have three hotshot crews working on a road, they make a lot of hay in a day,” Cole said. “Those are the crews that can crank out the most work, as far as their skill set, and find out what’s still burning. They’re kind of like machines going through there.”

He added that the process of removing hazard snags liable to fall on the road is nearly complete. Crews are also systematically checking roadside areas of unburned vegetation for any underground fires that could pop up later on, with a careful eye on downslope areas that have the potential to burn up toward the road.

Cole said the road might open before crews are finished mopping up the area, but not as long as firefighting traffic continues along the road.

“When the road opens up, that’s going to be in coordination with realizing there’s still firefighters out there on the ground,” he said.

Reporter Samuel Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.