21,045-acre fire sends smoke to Flathead Valley
Fire officials estimated the size of the Copper King Fire at 21,045 acres Monday, but reported that growth occurred mainly Sunday and Monday, and the fire east of Thompson Falls settled down substantially Tuesday with cooler weather and a drop in wind.
Despite the relative calm, however, smoke from the fire built up over Flathead Lake during the day, blanketing the Flathead Valley after a southerly wind picked up Tuesday afternoon.
More than 20 structures were still under a mandatory evacuation order from the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday afternoon, and additional structures remained under a pre-evacuation notice.
“The weather today and in the next couple days is going to be really conducive to making progress on the fire,” public information officer Glenda Scott said Tuesday afternoon.
Firefighters had already spent more than $8.6 million suppressing the fire by the time a Type 1 Incident Command team took over operations Tuesday morning.
Incident Commander Greg Poncin’s team was overseeing 356 personnel, including four hotshot crews and five additional 20-person fire crews. Firefighters used nine helicopters, 19 fire engines, multiple single-engine tankers and bulldozers to focus on structure protection, line improvement and mop-up activities, reporting 15 percent containment as of Tuesday afternoon.
High winds had propelled rapid growth of the northeast flank of the fire on Sunday and Monday, pushing flames along several drainages after days of hot, dry conditions.
In additional to the cooler weather, higher humidity and the possibility of showers in the area are also in the forecast for the next couple days.
Several roads in the vicinity of the burn area have been closed to the public. They include the Little Thompson River Road along with Forest Roads No. 56, 9991 from the road 56 to the 17-mile marker and 5587. Forest trails 345, 368, 370, 372, 445 and 1268 are also closed, as well as the Copper King and Clark Memorial campgrounds.
The evacuation order from the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office applies along Little Thompson River Road, between mile markers 8 and 18. It includes mostly summer cabins, according to Sanders County Sheriff Tom Rummel.
Pre-evacuation notices are in effect for residents between the evacuation area and Montana 200, as well as residents of homes along Buffalo Bill Creek, Weeksville Creek and Munson Creek roads.
A temporary Red Cross shelter has been set up for evacuated residents at Thompson Falls High School.
For updated information on the Copper King Fire, call the incident management team’s information line at 406-826-4345.
Updates to evacuation and pre-evacuation status will be posted to the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page at bit.ly/2byjQ1P.
Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.