500-acre fire 2 miles from Hot Springs

The Garden Creek Fire, burning on the Flathead Reservation about 2 miles north of the Hot Springs district, made a run Aug. 3, expanding to a total of 530 acres.

The CSKT Division of Fire local Type 3 Incident team on Monday reached 2 percent containment of the fire that is burning near Coney Peak at elevations mostly above 5,000 feet.

No structures or communities were under threat from the fire, according to Public Information Officer C. T. Camel.

Equipment and personnel on scene included four hand crews, three helicopters, five engines, three water tenders, four bulldozers, four single-engine air tankers and two skidgines assigned and 119 total personnel.

The region experienced hot, windy conditions over the weekend that fueled the fire through timber, grass and understory, causing multiple road closures in the area.

Closures include HS 4000 Road, HS 5000 Road and HS 1000 Road at the HS 5030 junction and at the McGinnis Road junction.

The fire was started by lightning on July 29 in the Garden Creek drainage.

Farther north, the Ten Mile Fire grew to around 530 acres, burning around 18 miles southwest of Eureka.

Though no structures or roads were under threat and no evacuations order implemented, residents of the area were advised to have a evacuation plan in place just in case.

Around 200 fire personnel managed around 20 percent containment as of Monday with a Type 2 incident team overseeing operations.

Fire personnel planned a public fire meeting to brief the community on happenings surrounding the fire on Monday at the Trego Civic Center.

The Davis Fire burning near Yaak reached 375 acres with most of the growth occuring on the western edge in heavy timber.

Nearly 230 firefighters worked the fire under the direction of a Type 2 incident team.

A small new fire, named the Virginia Creek Fire, cropped up on Aug. 2 in the Virginia Creek drainage.

The 30-acre fire fell under the management of a 47-person crew from the Madison Valley Volunteer Fire Department and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, which is working to prevent the fire from spreading past Meadow Creek and Virginia Creek roads.

Road closures for the area include Virginia Creek Road 1249 and trail 6314.

Air quality forecasts for the week show a decline as the week progresses, with much of the state expected to drop to moderate or unhealthy for senasitve groups.

As of Monday, Columbia Falls, Missoula, Libby and Thompson Falls fell to moderate air quality due to smokey conditions.

Record high temperatures combined with low humidy throughout the week were expected to increase fire danger, with skies becoming hazier as smoke drifts in from Oregon and California as well.