Jewel Basin Road reopens after fire

The Jewel Basin Road reopened Tuesday afternoon after Flathead National Forest officials temporarily closed the popular access road Monday morning to put out a small  lightning-caused fire near Noisy Creek.

Spotted early in the morning north of the lower segment of the gravel road, the fire was stopped at a quarter of an acre after firefighters from the forest and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation crews hit it with a light helicopter and dug fire line around about 80 percent of the perimeter by 1 p.m.

Swan Lake District Ranger Richard Kehr said he expects it to be fully contained by the end of the day.

“For safety’s sake, with it being such a hot, dry day, we wanted to make sure we didn’t get people into trouble in the Jewel Basin, so we shut it down this morning,” Kehr said.

There are no trail closures associated with the fire.

The Camp Misery parking lot was empty early Tuesday morning when officials closed the 7-mile-long road. The parking lot is the main gateway to the popular Jewel Basin Hiking Area east of the Flathead Valley.