Numerous new fires crop up after lightning storm
A handful of new wildfires cropped up Wednesday night across Northwest Montana as thunder and lightning storms moved over the region.
In Flathead County, a group of four fires were reported northwest of Little Bitterroot Lake and Ashely Lake. The largest, the Lemonade Fire, was estimated at 50 acres. The nearby Valley Fire was 19 acres. The Pleasant Ridge Fire was 2 acres and the Wolf Fire was less than an acre in size.
In Sanders County, the Star Fire, was estimated at 10 acres Thursday. It is just north of Heron in Sanders County. Not far away, the Government Fire north of Noxon was estimated at 5 acres.
In Lincoln County, four fires less than an acre in size sparked up. The Williams Creek Fire is west of Libby just south of U.S. 2. The Dunn Fire is southeast of the Libby Dam. The Schrieber Lake and Upper Schreiber fires are on the west side of U.S. 2 west of Happy’s Inn.
Meanwhile, the Quartz Fire in Glacier National Park showed little activity on Wednesday, however hot weather expected through the weekend could ramp of activity and smoke. As of Thursday morning, the fire was estimated at 1,698 acres.
The Flat Mineral Fire, located in the Flattop Mountain area above Mineral Creek in Glacier National Park, produced wisps of smoke throughout the day on Wednesday, but had no observable spread. The fire is in a remote area and is surrounded by brush and fuels last burned during the Trapper Fire in 2003. The fire is being observed by the Swiftcurrent Lookout.
Air quality in the Flathead Valley was rates as moderate Thursday morning.
AUTHORITIES WARNED of high wildfire danger across much of Montana on Thursday as temperatures were forecast to approach the triple digits with heavy winds in some areas.
The start of September will bring heat at near record levels and it will linger through Labor Day weekend, the National Weather Service said.
Central and and northeastern Montana from Great Falls to the North Dakota border were under a red flag warning through midnight.
Winds gusts up to 30 miles per hour and highs near 100 degrees Fahrenheit were forecast. That means any spark could cause a new wildfire, forecasters in Great Falls said.
August had the highest monthly average temperatures ever recorded in Helena and Belgrade, the weather service said.