Red flag warning in effect in Glacier Park fire area
<p>A crew from Flathead Helitack prepares to land in East Glacier on Wednesday, July 22. Smoke from the Reynolds Creek Fire which has grown to 4,000 acres, was beginning to come through the mountains into the St. Mary area. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
Higher humidity last night helped firefighting efforts on the Reynolds Creek Fire burning on the east side of Glacier National Park, but increasing wind and temperatures could reverse that trend today.
A recorded message at the fire information line stated that the blaze remained at an estimated 4,000 acres as of Thursday morning. It is burning through heavy timber to the north of St. Mary Lake, with winds pushing it to the east and northeast.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for the area, effective from noon to 9 p.m. The agency is forecasting a high of 73 degrees today, with winds from 14 to 18 miles per hour and gusts up to 25 miles per hour.
Those breezy conditions are expected to continue Friday and potential pick up Saturday, with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Air quality meteorologist Kristin Martin, with the Montana Division of Environmental Quality, said Thursday that localized smoke impacts were intermittent during the morning, but began increasing around noon. She anticipated more of the same throughout today and Friday, depending on the intensity of the fire.
No further evacuations had been ordered in the area as of 12:30 p.m., although the Glacier County Sheriff's office and Blackfeet Emergency Management are working with other agencies to evaluate the possibility of a mandatory evacuation in St. Mary, depending on conditions.