Glacier Rim fire jumps the line

The Glacier Rim Fire grew a bit over the weekend as winds pushed the flames into an additional 25 acres over the containment line.

A cool Sunday and a trace amount of rain overnight helped firefighters, officials said, noting 70 percent of the fire is contained.

“We were able to do a lot of work on it yesterday (Sunday) with the cooler temps,” Ellen Blickhan with the National Park Service said Monday. “We’re still working on it, but most of it is really shored up.”

On Monday the fire was reported at 100 acres — up from the 85 acres firefighters worked to contain at the end of last week.

Crews are still confident with the area’s containment. Heavy machinery and hand crews continue to work the lines, and an additional helicopter has been brought in to drop water on hot spots. That makes three helicopters helping the ground forces.

Amid windy conditions Saturday night, the fire jumped to the south. Blickhan said crews are still working to bring that southern flank under control.

Things are looking better on the opposite end, however. Blickhan said hot spots are dwindling on the northern end of the fire.

“That northern section really showed how it has cooled down quite a bit,” she said.

Officials have closed portions of Canyon Creek Road west of the fire to open up access for fire crews.

According to a press release, officials are also assessing homes in the Spoon and Bailey lakes areas.

Closer to the fire, two property owners have already voluntarily evacuated. There has been no official order for evacuations.

Weather will continue to be a factor in fire containment. The National Weather Service called for another fire weather watch for today.

According to the advisory, thunderstorms and wind gusts could come into Western Montana, expected in the Kootenai National Forest area.

As of Monday, 90 people were battling the fire.

Reporter Matt Hudson may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com.