Half Moon Fire subject of May 15 talk
The 1929 Half Moon Fire threatened Columbia Falls, and then raced into Glacier National Park, eventually scorching over 162 square miles. (Courtesy photo)
The Flathead Valley's most devastating fire is the subject of a talk Monday, May 15, in Kalispell. The 1929 Half Moon Fire threatened Columbia Falls, and then raced into Glacier National Park, eventually scorching over 162 square miles.
Rick Trembath of Bigfork, who has more than 56 years of wildfire experience, will describe the futile efforts to halt the historic fire.
The fire exploded north of Half Moon in mid-August 1929 in what had already been a bad fire year. It soon combined with two other fires, and raced over Teakettle Mountain.
“This, with the flames on Teakettle Mountain, and the fire north of Columbia Falls, gave the impression that the whole country from the Canyon to the park, were afire,” reported the Daily Inter Lake at the time.
Flames jumped the North Fork River and the fire roared into Glacier National Park, covering more than 30 miles in 48 hours. Hundreds of firefighters were brought in protect park headquarters at West Glacier. A special train ran to West Glacier to evacuate the tourists. The flames were stopped 250 feet short of town.
But the fire continued to push up the Middle Fork, and north then over the mountains to Lake McDonald. Compounding the battle were fires on the South Fork, and the North Fork, which sent residents fleeing across the border into Canada.
The fires continued to burn well into September, eventually burning 103,400 acres. It took over a thousand firefighters and $100,000 to battle the fire.
Trembath, started with the Forest Service on a fire crew in 1967, and eventually retiring from the Swan Lake Ranger District in 2003. His service on the Bigfork Fire and Ambulance Department includes four years as chief, and he currently runs a forestry and fire consulting business.
The talk is monthly presentation of the Northwest Montana Posse of Westerners, a local history group. It starts at 7 p.m. on the second floor of Montana History Museum, at 124 2nd Ave. East in Kalispell. Cost is $5 for the general public, with Posse members and youths under 16 admitted free.