Fire spreads to 16 acres near Olney

Officials are urging caution after a 16-acre forest fire on Monday evening that spread in unseasonably dry conditions.

The fire was on Stillwater State Forest land near Olney. It started west of U.S. 93 roughly 13 miles northwest of Whitefish.

Firefighters contained the fire at about 9:45 p.m. Monday, according to Brian Manning, unit supervisor with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

He said investigators believe the fire was human-caused since some fireworks were found at the scene. The incident still is under investigation.

The U.S. Forest Service and Evergreen, Whitefish, Olney and West Valley fire departments assisted on the fire.

On Tuesday, some crews remained on the scene to make sure everything was clear. No structures were threatened.

After observing the conditions near the fire, fire officials hope some precipitation comes soon.

“The Stillwater is usually pretty moist,” Manning said. “We were kind of surprised because it was in some light timber.”

Whitefish Interim Fire Chief Joe Page said the fire behavior was “unprecedented” for this time of year, considering some of the other calls his firefighters have responded to.

Without some rain, he said it might be a busy year for his and other departments.

Despite the conditions, responders were able to surround and corral the fire with the help of mutual aid, even after a quick spread.

“We would have thought it didn’t carry as much as it did,” Manning said.