Price tag grows for Copper King Fire

The Copper King Fire burning near Thompson Falls is now the largest and most expensive wildfire in Montana, but crews reported significant progress Friday after several days of favorable weather.

Christi Powers, an information officer for the Type 1 Incident Management Team battling the fire, said crews continued to strengthen existing fire lines and conduct backburns on unburned pockets of fuel Friday.

About 45 structures east of Thompson Falls remain under an evacuation order, and another 130 homes are on notice to be prepared for evacuation.

Firefighting efforts on the 22,000-acre blaze are more than $11.6 million so far. Five of the seven interagency hotshot crews in Montana are working on the fire.

The Lolo National Forest, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Sanders County Sheriff’s Office and Weyerhaeuser Co. will enforce a new area closure on public and private land in the vicinity of the fire.

For specific area restrictions, visit tinyurl.com/hftr4on or call the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office at 406-827-3584, extension 3.

NEAR Lakeside, continued lower temperatures and wind speeds also allowed crews to continue mop-up on the 60-acre Bierney Creek Fire, where containment was bumped up to 60 percent on Friday.

Within a half-mile of the fire’s perimeter are 75 structures once considered threatened, but fire information officer Ali Ulwelling said most structure protection resources have been moved off the fire over the past couple of days.

The cause of the fire, which started Monday, remained under investigation as of Friday afternoon.

Despite fall-like weather conditions during the past week, fire officials note that fire danger remains high in Flathead County, and they ask that people continue using precautions to reduce the number of new fire starts.

Fire activity could also pick up over the weekend, with sustained winds up to 25 miles per hour moving into the region this afternoon and higher temperatures expected next week.

To underscore the persistent dry conditions, Ulwelling noted that a small grass fire was ignited Friday morning after a bird was electrocuted on a power line along Montana 82 just north of Somers. On Wednesday, a ricocheting bullet caused a separate fire at the Whitefish Rifle & Pistol Club.

Both fires were quickly extinguished.

Reporter Sam Wilson may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.