Fires stretch resources

Although cool temperatures over the weekend and on Monday helped slow the progress of the multitude of fires burning in Northwest Montana, fire managers are fighting for every available resource as drought, heat and lightning storms have scorched thousands of acres throughout the Northwestern United States.

The region is currently under an “extreme fire danger” warning, which is the most severe classification and is tied to the level of regional and national demand on firefighting personnel and equipment.

“Most national resources at this time are committed,” said Jeremy Pris, a state fire manager based in Kalispell. “The potential of any new starts creates a high risk with resources so thin.”

Northeast Kootenai Complex Fire

A Type II Incident Management Team has taken over management on the Marston Fire, along with four other fires being now being called the Northeast Kootenai Complex Fires.

The team is directing 224 personnel to fight fire on 2,340 acres, mostly located on the Fortine Ranger District.

The Marston Fire is estimated at 2,000 acres and is burning north of Murphy Lake near Trego.

“Today we focused a lot of our efforts and heavy equipment on a fuel break in the Deep Creek area,” said fire information officer Meg Nemitz. “So far they’ve been continuing to work on what they’re doing and trying to get in front of anticipated warmer weather later this week.”

The Sunday Creek Fire is estimated at 160 acres. Crews continued to establish and reinforce line around the fire, but progress has been slow due to the large number of hazardous snags in the burn area.

Located north of the Marston Fire, the Barnaby Fire is only 10 acres and but experienced increased fire activity throughout the day. Crews focused on stamping out spot fires downwind from the new blaze.

The complex also includes the Dunn and Weigel Fires, which are contained and currently in mop-up status.

“They did catch a break in the last couple days with the lower temperatures and the humidity,” Nemitz said. “We’re trying to get more crews and aviation as well, [but] those are limited just because we have so many fires around.”

The fire team will hold a public information meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at the Trego Civic Center.

The fire management team has established a hotline with more information on these fires at 406-882-8308.

Melton 1 Fire

The Melton Fire, burning in thick ponderosa pine and Douglas fir west of Charlo, added significant acreage Sunday and Monday, bringing the total to 3,303 acres.

Tribal fire official C.T. Camel said the blaze was 30 percent contained, despite significant resource shortages.

“There’s about 20 personnel on that fire. Resources are strapped around here,” he said. “We’re expecting a wind event on Friday, so we’re trying to button up some things between now and then.”

Water was dropped from one helicopter through Monday, and Devlin Laframois, another fire official with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, said the firefighting effort has been aided by cooler temperatures.

“We shouldn’t have many problems; the temperature is a lot better for us in the lower 80s and upper 70s,” he said. “We’d like to get some precip, but we’re not going to get any of that.”

The Melton 1 Fire was among nine fires detected on the Flathead Indian Reservation after a round of thunderstorms Friday. All but one were caused by lightning.

Among them, firefighters were still working to complete containment lines around two on Monday, with the other six fully contained.

Thompson-Divide Complex Fires

There was little change at the Thompson Fire, which is still burning in the south-central corner of Glacier National park and remains at 13,680 acres.

The blaze has been burning through the remote Nyack drainage since Aug. 9, and spokesman Greg Dinetto said it appeared to grow little throughout the day as crews focused on the more heavily vegetated west side.

“We’re trying to button up the west side and lessen the risk of any further spread to the west,” Dinetto said. “We’re still monitoring the east side. There’s some potential for it to go over the top of the divide, but it’s very unlikely.”

Resources include 115 personnel and two helicopters. Firefighters used prescribed burns to clear out unburned vegetation within the fire perimeter.

Across U.S. 2 from the park, two other fires are also being managed by that team. Dinetto said neither poses much threat to the nearby town of Essex.

The most concerning of the two is the 77-acre Sheep Fire, located about 2.5 miles south of town in the Great Bear Wilderness. Five smoke jumpers from Missoula landed there on Monday, and an additional 10 firefighters are expected to arrive today from the Thompson Fire.

Helicopters were deployed to drop water on the Granite Fire, which by Monday night had consumed 27 acres deep in the Great Bear Wilderness. It is considered unlikely to spread toward any private lands.

However, Dinetto said resources from the Thompson Fire will also work to suppress it today to keep it from growing any larger.

“We’ll have close to 30 people on the Granite Fire, constructing lines, identifying anchor points and working around the perimeter,” he said.

The other fire in the complex is the Waterton Lake Fire, still burning at about 25 acres in the northeast corner of the park, near Goat Haunt.

Fire officials from the Thompson Complex will hold a public meeting tonight at the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex, at 7 p.m. Dinetto said the incident commander, representatives from Glacier National Park and the Flathead National Forest will inform attendees of ongoing suppression activities and expected fire behavior.

While most of the recent fires have been caused by lightning, law enforcement agencies have continued responding daily to reports of illegal campfires and burning on private property, despite ongoing fire restrictions, record measures of fuel dryness and fast-growing fires throughout the region.

For that reason, fire officials from the Forest Service, state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, counties and local fire departments spent Monday weighing whether to bump Northwest Montana’s fire restrictions to Stage II. A decision is expected sometime today.

Flathead, Lake, Lincoln and Sanders Counties are already at Stage I, which bans campfires outside designated campgrounds and smoking except when in an enclosed vehicle or building, or at least three feet from any flammable materials.

Stage II would extend the ban to all campfires, except devices that can be turned on and off and are fueled by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels. It would also eliminate all motorized vehicle use off designated roads and trails.

Hoot owl restrictions for operating internal combustion engines — such as those used for logging and farming — would only allow those activities from 1 a.m. to 1 p.m., and require a two-hour foot patrol in the area afterwards.

After several days of thick smoke pervading the region, northwesterly winds significantly cleared up the Flathead Valley’s air by Monday, but an “unhealthy” air quality warning for Libby continued. By late afternoon the state Division of Air Quality stated in a release that Libby’s smoke concentrations had decreased to acceptable levels.

Seeley Lake’s air was deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups, while the Flathead Valley’s air impacts were moderate, but not dangerous.

The agency forecasts northwesterly winds to continue for the next several days, limiting the impacts of smoke from fires burning in states west of Montana.

“Areas along the Idaho border will likely see the worst impacts, as transported smoke from Idaho and Washington combines with smoke from local fires,” the release stated.

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