Spreading fires lead to new evacuations

The growing 1,900-acre Klatawa Fire southeast of Libby prompted an evacuation order Saturday.

The evacuation notice involves 20 residents of Lower Granite Lake Road, Granite Creek Road, Willow Road, Prospect Creek Road, Winchester Drive and Granite Lake Road, according to the firefighting team managing the Goat Rocks Complex.

Pre-evacuation notices were issued for all residents and businesses west of U.S. 2 south of Pearl Street near Atkins South Gas Station (which includes the Woodland Heights subdivision off of Snowshoe Road) down to Bear Creek Road.

Elsewhere, the towns of Essex in Flathead County and Heart Butte on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation remain under evacuation orders.

Montana National Guard troops were called in to help fight the 30,263-acre fire complex on the reservation, and more crews are being sought, according to fire spokeswoman Margaret Hangan. “We’ll see what we can get,” Hangan said.

A shelter was set up by the Red Cross and the Blackfeet Tribe at nearby Browning for evacuees. About 200 people registered at the shelter Saturday, and another 100 people are likely staying nearby with family, said James McNeely, assistant to the Blackfeet tribal chairman.

“Our children are scared,” said Heart Butte resident Rebecca Rider, who has lived in the community for all of her 55 years. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Cold fronts moving through Northwest Montana are expected to decrease temperatures and possibly temper fire activity on fires that have covered 144,000 acres.  

Public information officer Greg DeNitto said the weather change will change tactics on how crews attack fires in the Thompson-Divide Complex at the southern edge of Glacier National Park.

“We’ll put equipment up Essex Creek Road and clear some of trees and brush to provide a more defensible space when we do some [controlled] burning,” DeNitto said. “We want to reduce the amount of fuel.”

The Sheep Fire prompted the evacuation of Essex and closure of U.S. 2.

Acreage estimates for fires on the Spotted Bear Ranger District increased sharply, largely due to better mapping, according to fire information officer Al Koss.

“We were able to get in the air and do some infrared flights,” Koss said.

The Bear Creek Fire has burned 67,117 acres and the Trail Creek Fire 21,084 acres.

The Bear Creek Fire was most active on the north side of the fire in the Little Creek and Addition Creek areas and burned through the night on Cinnabar Mountain. The fire is approximately two miles from the Spotted Bear Ranger Station.

Crews continued burnout operations along Meadow Creek Road to secure the road as a holding line.

For fire information, go to http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/state/27.

For air-quality information, go to http://svc.mt.gov/deq/todaysair.