Pre-evac orders in place for border fire

Flathead County issued pre-evacuation orders over the Labor Day weekend for residents of Moose City north of Pole-bridge near the Canadian border in the area where the Elder Creek Fire has crossed the border into the United States.

Moose City is one of the areas county fire personnel are watching closely, Sheriff Chuck Curry told the county commissioners Tuesday morning. Curry and Office of Emergency Services Director Rick Sacca met with the commissioners to update them on the county’s involvement in firefighting efforts.

The Elder Creek Fire started on the Canadian side of the border Sept. 2. It is currently 1,853 acres, with approximately 80 acres on the U.S. side.

Stan Schaffer, a shareholder in a cluster of Moose City dwellings that includes four cabins, a two-story home, barn and couple of storage building, said the Forest Service on Monday placed pumps in the river and set up sprinklers to protect the dwellings.

“The fire commander told me Monday afternoon they felt at that time the chances were small of the fire reaching [Moose City],” Schaffer said, adding that there are several more private summer cabins in the area and sprinklers have been set up on those dwellings as well.

“We have the river between us and that fire, but if it were to come to the river and the wind was blowing right, embers would end up there,” Schaffer said. “It’s kind of a waits-and-see.”

On the west side of a private airstrip at Moose City, trucks have been loading water from the North Fork of the Flathead River and hauling the water to locations along the road, he added.

Schaffer said he was at Moose City when the Flathead County undersheriff and a deputy came around with pre-evacuation orders.

“The deputy said, ‘if you hear the sirens (located at the border station) — get out.”

The Sprague Fire on the west side of Glacier also is being watched closely by Flathead County, Curry said. He and other authorities flew over the fire Monday night, which is now 13,343 acres.

“It’s pushed way out, over the crest and is moving toward the highway corridor,” Curry said. “It has a pretty good chance of making it to Highway 2, depending on what happens to the winds. I’d not be personally surprised if it doesn’t meet the Sun Road … that [fire] right now is our primary concern.”

Heavy localized smoke slowed the Sprague Fire on Wednesday. Two helicopters dipped water out of Lake McDonald and worked to cool the fire in the Mount Brown area and the ridge above the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Overnight firefighters monitored activity on Snyder Ridge and patrolled the Lake McDonald Lodge complex.

More than 1,000 feet of mainline and 8,000 feet of lateral hand line was to arrive at the Lake McDonald Lodge on Wednesday. The high capacity sprinklers are designed to wet large areas to create a fire break.

Also of concern for the county is the Adair Peak Fire that has burned over 1,300 acres near Logging Lake east of Polebridge. The Logging Lake campground and backcountry trail and campgrounds have closed and the Inside North Fork Road is closed from Polebridge south to the ranger station.

Due to the fires, Lake McDonald Lodge closed for the season on Aug. 30 and Going-to-the-Sun Road remains closed between Apgar Village and Logan Pass.

The decision to close the lodge came from concessionaire Glacier National Park Lodges out of concern for its employees, who have been exposed to the smoke for several days now. When the weather cools at night, smoke from the fire settles like smog over the north end of Lake McDonald.

Several employees on Wednesday were wearing masks the company gave them.

Manager Marc Ducharme said that reservations were canceled and people were given a list of hotels as possible alternatives.

He noted that logistically it would have been tough to close the hotel for just a week or so, to wait for the smoke to clear. The hotel has a lot of perishable food items and employees couldn’t be expected to wait around for it to reopen. He said it was booked solid through September.

The lodge employs about 150 people.

There were other openings in other Xanterra Parks and Resort properties, including Many Glacier, Swiftcurrent and even as far as Yellowstone, Ducharme said, and employees were offered jobs at those other properties. Xanterra is the parent company of Glacier National Park Lodges.

Many areas of the park remain open including some areas of the North Fork, Apgar Village, the Going-to-the-Sun Road between St. Mary and Logan Pass, Granite Park Chalet, Two Medicine, St. Mary, and Many Glacier. Check the park website for current conditions.

On Tuesday, Parks Canada issued an evacuation alert for all of Waterton Lakes National Park due to the Kenow Fire. Parks Canada said in a press release that it will continue to manage the fire and plans to use helicopters to bucket water if possible.

All of Waterton is closed except for Townsite, Highway 5/6 including Entrance Road to Townsite, and the Chief Mountain Highway.