Suspicious wildfire burns 2,000 acres in Lake County

A wildfire of suspicious origin broke out Thursday afternoon in Lake County on Flathead Reservation land and quickly spread to 2,000 acres overnight.

The Rattlesnake Fire is burning 10 miles northeast of Hot Springs in the Rattlesnake Gulch area near Lone Pine east of Highway 28.

Officials are investigating the fire that began in grass and quickly climbed the hillside and into timber.

According to C.T. Camel, of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe Division of Fire, the fire either began inside or next to a barn that is being dismantled.

“The tribe wanted it taken down because the timbers in those kinds of barns is in pretty high demand and people had been going up there to take what they could get,” Camel said.

Camel said the contractor hadn’t been on the job since Tuesday and he said he was going to meet with a Western Montana Fire Marshal Friday to see if a cause and exact location of the fire could be determined.

Three helicopters, at least five engines, two dozers and two skidgines worked the fire Thursday, and more than 100 firefighting personnel were engaged in the control effort.

The Forest Service and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation forces were also dispatched to the fire.

The incident commander is Bob McCrea, of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe Division of Fire.

Fire crews planned to establish anchor points and build fire lines.

Five single-engine air tankers, two large air tankers in conjunction with a lead plane and an air attack ship were working the fire Thursday.

No structures were threatened and there were no current road or area closures.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker can be reached at (406) 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.