Evacuations continue as fire bears down on St. Mary
<p>Debra Arnold of Kalispell got an up close and personal look at the Reynolds Creek Wildland Fire while visiting St. Mary Falls in Glacier National Park on Tuesday, July 21. The fire quickly grew to over 1,000 acres that evening, and is now listed at more than 2,000 acres.</p>
<p>The Reynolds Creek Wildland Fire burns near the Reynolds Creek campground in Glacier National Park Tuesday evening. By Wednesday at 9 a.m. the fire was reported to have covered 2,000 acres. (Chris Peterson/Hungry Horse News)</p>
<p class="p1">Dan Hafferman took this photo from the Going-to-the-Sun Road at about 3:50 p.m. Tuesday in Glacier National Park of the start of the Reynolds Creek Wildland Fire. According to Hafferman, the fire "appeared to be close to the bottom the valley and might have been adjacent to the Jackson Glacier pullout. It appeared to be about an acre at that time." By Wednesday morning, the fire had grown to at least 2,000 acres. </p>
<p class="p1">This photo was taken by Justin Barth, director of education for the Glacier Institute from just below the summit of Heavy Runner at around 4:30 pm yesterday. That is approximately 45 minutes after the Reynolds Creek Wildland Fire is reported to have started. Barth said, "The winds on the summit ridge were so strong that rocks were blowing off the mountain and tree branches were snapping." Those windy conditions caused the fire to grow quickly to 2,000 acres overnight. (Justin Barth photo)</p>
Smoke visible from St. Mary
Strong winds blowing steadily at about 30 miles per hour are pushing the Reynolds Creek Fire along the northwest shore of St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park, prompting additional precautionary evacuations of the St. Mary area.
Evacuated areas include the St. Mary Visitor Center, the west shore of St. Mary Lake and National Park Service administrative area.
Officials from the park, Glacier County and Blackfeet Emergency Management are coordinating evacuation plans, according to park spokeswoman Katie Liming.
Evacuations for areas adjacent to the park boundary were ordered by the Glacier County Sheriff and Blackfeet Emergency Services.
The wind-driven fire is moving quickly in dry, heavy timber and extreme fire behavior is reported.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning from 3 to 9 p.m. today for Glacier National Park. This warning means that critical fire weather conditions are anticipated, including strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures, factors contributing to the rapid fire growth.
A Type 1 incident command team was ordered to the blaze, still estimated at 2,000 acres, but had not yet arrived as of early Wednesday afternoon.
A Type 2 team arrived from Idaho early Wednesday morning. Park rangers were still searching hiking trails and campgrounds for visitors in the park.
The wind is pushing the fire eastward. A helicopter crew from the Forest Service’s Hungry Horse Ranger Station was deployed to put out spot fires downwind.
No structures have been destroyed, although one car left by a park visitor was fully engulfed by the flames.
The fire, which was first reported at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, moved quickly in heavy timber with extreme spread potential. It started near Grizzly Point, approximately six miles east of Logan Pass. Park dispatch received numerous reports of the fire from shuttle bus drivers, Glacier Boat Company employees, park employees and visitors.
By late Tuesday afternoon Rising Sun Motel was quickly evacuated. Employees are staying at a camp in Coram.
Glacier Park Lodges General Manager Marc Ducharme said about 60 employees were loaded onto red buses and taken out of the valley. About 150 guests were also evacuated, given refunds for their rooms and a list of other hotels they could stay at in the area.
“It took about 15 minutes,” he said.
Ducharme said while employees were being evacuated, staff took the company's warehouse truck and loaded it with just about every tent and camping supply they could purchase from Wal-Mart in Kalispell.
He said that within an hour, everyone was gone from the facility.
They're now all staying at a “tent city” of sorts at Glacier Park Lodges’ campground in Coram, which the company purchased last year from the Brown family.
Ducharme said the company isn't worried about Many Glacier at this point. Prevailing winds don't appear to be pushing the fire in that direction.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road is closed between the St. Mary entrance on the east side and the Big Bend on the west side. The road closure is in response to the fire, firefighter and visitor safety, fire response activities, and park personnel priorities. The duration of the road closure is unknown.
St. Mary Campground, a 148-campsite facility, was evacuated Wednesday morning.
Park officials are helping visitors retrieve vehicles that were left along the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
There is limited access to trails or backcountry areas from the Going-to-the-Sun Road at this time.