Montana activity

[NJFFSA16]

JORDAN (AP) - Firefighters expect to complete their lines around
a grass and timber fire on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife
Refuge Monday morning.
By Sunday night, the fire had burned 1,950 acres of ponderosa
pine, juniper trees and grass.
Officials said the fire was nearly lined and there were no hot
spots Sunday night. They expected to have the fire controlled on
Tuesday.
Lightning started the fire on Wednesday, east of the Hell Creek
recreational area some 18 miles north of Jordan in northeastern
Montana.
The two 20-member hand crews of firefighters were being assisted
by three helicopters, 11 fire engines and a water tender, with
occasional help from air tankers.
The fire was nearly all on the refuge, but includes some small
amounts of Bureau of Land Management land and five acres of state
land.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 7th

WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. (AP) - A campfire that burned out of
control caused a forest fire that has consumed more than 200 acres
and spread into Yellowstone National Park, forest officials said
Monday.
Several dozen people are working on the fire, including two
helicopters, a fixed wing air tanker, five ground engines, a
20-person hotshot crew from the Bitterroot National Forest and one
crew each from the Gallatin and Helena National Forests.
It is being fought in the park because it was human caused.
Crews had it 50 percent contained late Monday afternoon, said
information officer Marianna Baumberger said Monday.
The Baker's Hole fire started Saturday in the Gallatin National
Forest and spread into the park, running into a place that burned
in 1988, Baumberger said.
The fire calmed down once it ran into the young green trees in
the old burn, Baumberger said, but is still active in an adjacent
area where there is fuel.
"It made a pretty significant run Sunday," she said, swelling
from about 65 acres to an estimated 200 to 250 acres by Monday
morning.
Baumberger said that large fuels in the area are nearly as dry
as they were in 1988, when almost one million acres burned in and
near Yellowstone.
Park policy calls for allowing fires to burn in some
circumstances, but only if natural causes ignite them.
Baumberger said the fire spread from a campfire on the east side
of Highway 191, but she had no other information. The case remains
under investigation.
The fire spared the West Yellowstone garbage transfer station,
which also includes a new composting facility, Baumberger said. No
other structures were threatened.
Fire crews continued to work the flanks of the fire and ahead of
it in Yellowstone. At least one air tanker dropped retardant on
Sunday and may have made another pass on Monday, Baumberger said.
"The general feeling is they're starting to get a handle on
it," Baumberger said. "But it all depends on if a weather system
comes through."

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 13th

HELENA (AP) - Officials evacuated a rural subdivision Sunday and
warned the community of York after a forest fire erupted in the
Canyon Ferry area northeast of here, while managers were trying to
find a safe way to battle a lightning-caused fire on the
Montana-Idaho border.
Near Helena, federal, state and local firefighters were quickly
mobilized after the Jimtown fire was spotted about noon.
The apparently human-caused fire started about three miles
southeast of York and a quarter-mile from a small subdivision along
the Jimtown Road, said Brian LaMoure, public information officer
for the Lewis and Clark County Disaster and Emergency Services.
Within five hours it had burned 500 acres and was still growing,
LaMoure said. Another size estimate wasn't expected until Monday
morning.
Winds 20 to 30 mph were pushing the fire eastward Sunday
afternoon, and were expected to continue in the 10 to 20 mph range
Monday, he said. The fire was moving toward the Cave Gulch area,
which burned in 2000.
Officials evacuated fewer than 20 residents along Jimtown Road.
The fire threatened 30 buildings in the Kingsberry Gulch area and
crews were protecting four homes, LaMoure said. The residents of
York, a dispersed rural community, were an alert that they, too,
might have to leave
"Erratic winds could turn the fire back to York, so they're on
evacuation watch," LaMoure said.
Aerial tankers were dropping chemical retardant on the fire,
said Jack Kendley, information officer with the Helena National
Forest.
"It's burning a combination of dry ponderosa pine and
juniper," Kendley said. "It's a quite flammable forest, one that
has changed most due to fire suppression. It has built up a lot of
fuel over what would have naturally occurred in that type forest."
A fire caused by lighting in Idaho crossed the Continental
Divide Saturday and spread into the Anderson Mountain roadless area
20 miles west of Wisdom and south of Montana 43, said Jack de
Golia, spokesman for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
"One of the difficulties we have is there's very, very
extensive forests of lodgepole pine, some of which were killed in
the 1930s by insects," de Golia said. "This year we're finding
those large logs are as dry or drier than they were in 2000," when
thousands of acres burned in western Montana.
About 80 firefighters were gathering in Wisdom Sunday, while
eight smokejumpers went in Saturday to build safety zones and
helicopter landing sites.
De Golia said retardant drops on Saturday had no effect on the
Blackwall fire.
"It was burning so hot that the retardant didn't slow anything
down," he said, noting that winds kept fire managers from
determining the size of the fire.
De Golia said fighting the fire is also difficult because there
are no natural breaks.
"Because there's so much continuous forest, especially dead
stuff, there's no place to anchor a fire line," he said. "We
can't put firefighters at the front of a fire with unburned stuff
at their back."
No structures were immediately threatened, but crews have
wrapped the May Creek Forest Service cabin and campground with
fire-retardant material as a precaution and both are closed.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 14th

HELENA (AP) - About 10 homes were evacuated and the small
mountain community of York was without power, as a wildfire a dozen
miles east of here raced through 700 acres in 24 hours.
The fire appeared to be moving away from York Monday afternoon,
but cautious residents recalled a nearby blaze that scorched
thousands of acres during the wildfires of 2000.
"I went through this three years ago," said Bob Salandi of
York. "It's funny that lightning should strike the same place
twice. You think it should strike somewhere else."
But fire officials said the blaze, although not contained,
seemed to be moving away from the area.
Authorities confirmed the Jimtown Fire was human-caused, but
said they couldn't release more information.
The blaze broke out Sunday about three miles southeast of York,
and a quarter-mile from a small subdivision along Jimtown Road near
Canyon Ferry Lake, fire officials said.
Electricity was not likely to be restored to York in the next
few days, said Paul Spendler, the Lewis and Clark County disaster
and emergency services coordinator. The town was not asked to
evacuate, but many residents left voluntarily after they were
warned of fire danger.
Overnight, the fire blew into an area burned by the 30,000-acre
Cave Gulch Fire two years ago.
Winds of 15 to 25 mph on Monday, coupled with low humidity and
temperatures in the 80s also caused fire officials to say they were
facing "extreme" fire danger.
About 200 people were digging fire lines around the fire, and
more crews had been requested, said Callie Berg of the Helena
National Forest.
Aerial tankers were dropping chemical retardant on the fire.
The fire was burning in dry ponderosa pine and juniper.
Officials said there was a lot of built-up fuel in the area.
"The fire danger has the potential to be extreme," Berg said.
"Our fire season is starting here in Montana."
Another growing fire was burning in the back country 20 miles
southwest of Wisdom in the southwestern corner of the state.
A nearby campground and Forest Service cabin were evacuated as a
precaution, officials said.
Two crews of 20 were dropped in Monday morning by helicopter to
fight the 350-acre Blackwall fire. It was burning in the Anderson
Mountain roadless area on the Idaho-Montana border, said Gail Baer
of the Forest Service.
A team of smokejumpers was also working on the blaze, which was
still far from any roads.
As the fire burned northeast into Montana, fire officials
worried it could ignite dry forests and make a run out of the back
country.
"It has potential, as it does go over into Montana, there is
some concern because it is dense heavy timber," Baer said. "If it
gets going it could cause some problems."

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 15th

HELENA (AP) - Fire crews have contained at least 40 percent of
the Jimtown Fire that erupted Sunday east of Helena, allowing
evacuated residents to return to their homes, officials said
Tuesday.
Crews spent the day keeping the fire away from seven houses and
a tavern near Canyon Ferry, but fire managers said there was little
threat from the blaze.
Jack Kendley, information officer for the Helena National
Forest, said that if the flames jumped into a gulch near the
buildings, crews "could knock it down pretty well."
Still, residents of the homes were put on evacuation watch as
the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for
Wednesday afternoon and evening, with the possibility of
thunderstorms bringing dry lightning and gusty winds.
There are about 11 crews on the fire, now measured at about
1,000 acres, assisted by four helicopters, two retardant bombers,
12 engines and several bulldozers.
Crews continued Tuesday to connect the boundaries of the fire,
and mop up hot smoldering spots, with special attention on securing
a line near the Cave Gulch area that burned in 2000.
The terrain there is steep, so crews were hand digging the lines
along the gulch.
Cooler temperatures and little wind Tuesday helped the 11 crews
keep a handle on the fire, said Kendley.
"Sometimes, a fire will make a run and go like a gobbler but
then it will lay down and we can get a line around it," Kendley
said.
The Jimtown Fire forced the evacuation of nine residents Sunday
along the Jimtown road near Canyon Ferry Reservoir. No homes were
damaged, though, and the evacuees were allowed to return to their
homes Tuesday morning.
Power was also restored Monday night to York, a mountain town of
about 180 people, which had been without power or phones for more
than a day.
Officials have said the fire was human-caused, but an
investigation is underway into how exactly it ignited. The Lewis
and Clark County Sheriff's office is offering a $5,000 reward on
any information.
The Bureau of Land Management was also fighting an 850-acre
lightning-caused fire 15 miles northeast of Roy. Nine engine crews,
three 20-person hand crews, one helicopter and two air tankers had
the Armells Fire 80 percent contained Tuesday night. Officials
expect to have it controlled by Thursday night. Crews burned 250
acres Monday night on the south side of the fire to keep it from
moving south.
Crews are also still working on the Blackwall Fire 20 miles west
of Wisdom, near the Idaho border. Burning in the backcountry, it is
estimated at 350 acres.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 16th

By DAN D'AMBROSIO
Associated Press Writer
CRAIG (AP) - Officials rushed firefighters and equipment into
the Dearborn area Wednesday, called for more help and ordered the
evacuation of some 150 houses after a small fire blew up overnight.
But by mid-afternoon, fire managers said they had a pretty good
handle on the blaze.
"It's looking real good right now, we have a line completely
around it," said Paul Brady, Dearborn Fire Department chief.
Fire managers said most of the people asked to leave their homes
simply decided to stay put.
The houses, many of them summer cabins, were scattered
throughout the area near the confluence of the Dearborn and
Missouri rivers. The Box Canyon Fire burned about a mile north of
there on the west side of the Missouri River.
The fire mushroomed overnight from 30 acres to 161 acres by
Wednesday afternoon.
Two aerial tankers and three helicopters, coordinated by a
spotter plane at 7,000 feet, aided 120 firefighters on the ground.
Brady said retardant drops ensured that firefighters were able
to build a line around the fire.
"I think we are OK unless something major happens with
weather," Brady said. "It's still trying to grow, but we have a
pretty good handle on it."
Officials asked residents in a 36-square-mile area to leave,
said incident commander Rick Grady of the state Department of
Natural Resources and Conservation.
No buildings were lost, Grady said. Five were in the perimeter
of the fire, but they were well protected, he said.
Most of the other major fires in Montana were either already
nearing control or were small and not considered major threats.
More than 150 firefighters were trying to control a fire that
burned into Montana from Idaho earlier in the week. The Blackwall
Fire, 20 miles west of Wisdom, was measured at 280 acres Wednesday.
Some roads and campgrounds were closed.
The Jimtown Fire, which erupted in the Helena National Forest on
Sunday northeast of Helena, was 40 percent contained Wednesday.
Fire crews were continuing to mop up and strengthen fire lines.
"It's in hand," said forest spokeswoman Amy Teegarden.
The fire forced the evacuation of nine residents Sunday along
the Jimtown road near Canyon Ferry Reservoir. No homes were
damaged, and residents were allowed to return to their homes
Tuesday morning.
Authorities suspect the fire, which has burned about 1,000
acres, started as a result of a "party or kegger." The Lewis and
Clark County Sheriff's office is offering a $5,000 reward for any
information leading to an arrest and conviction.
The Armells Fire, 15 miles northeast of Roy, was expected to be
contained Wednesday, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
Three crews were fighting the fire, which burned 550 acres.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/20

HELENA (AP) - The Missouri River complex of four fires in and
around the C.M. Russell Wildlife Refuge grew dramatically Sunday,
threatening businesses and ranches and forcing evacuation of about
50 residents, authorities said.
The fires grew from an estimated 13,000 acres late Saturday to
62,500 acres by Sunday afternoon, officials said.
In western Montana's Bitterroot Valley, Ravalli County
Commissioners declared a state of emergency Sunday as a precaution
in case the 500-acre Big Creek Fire near Victor continued to grow.
"This allows us to spin up and get state mutual aid if we need
it," Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman said.
The fires burning south of the Missouri River in and around a
wildlife refuge were quickly becoming the focal point of a
worsening fire season feeding on a deepening drought and record
temperatures in the 100-degree range.
Garfield County Sheriff Kelly Pierson said Sunday afternoon he
had evacuated 19 ranch homes and that depending on the wind, there
might be more families leaving their homes.
"Our priority is to get people evacuated," Pierson said.
"When that wall of fire comes over the hill, they're ready. Most
people, when you drive in the yard, their stuff is packed and
they're looking for vehicles."
"The (four) fires in this complex once again reacted to extreme
weather conditions and grew dramatically during the past 24
hours," spokesman Pat McKelvey said Sunday.
At 7 p.m., the Germaine fire was estimated at 30,000 acres. The
Big Coulee fire was estimated at 18,000 acres while the Indian
Springs fire was estimated at 12,000 acres. The Ghost Coulee fire
increased to 2,500 acres.
Weekend temperatures in the region reached 113 degrees wth
humidity as low as 5 percent and wnds gusting to 44 mph, McKelvey
said, and there were no indications of much change in coming days.
The state said it might seek federal help in dealing with the
blaze. A Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster declaration
can make sure about 75 percent of approved expenses are paid for.
"We're taking an aggressive approach on the evaluation (of a
FEMA request)," said John Monzie, Fire Suppression Supervisor with
the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. "This
incident is changing rapidly. You want to get out ahead of this."
The command team managing the fires abandoned its post 40 miles
northwest of Jordan early Sunday morning because of the rapid
advance of the Big Coulee Fire. McKelvey said the team has
relocated on the fairgrounds in Jordan.
No buildings have been lost in the fires, and there have been no
serious injuries. More than 400 firefighters are assigned, McKelvey
said.
The Bitterroot fire, reported at 50 acres Saturday, grew to 500
acres on Sunday as winds reached 25 mph. In addition to the state
of emergency declared Sunday, an evacuation plan for the area north
and west of Victor was in place, said fire information officer
Debby Wemple.
There were 80 firefighters on the fire, along with two
helicopters, two bulldozers and an excavator. The fire management
team has requested three more helicopters and an air tanker to drop
retardant, Wemple said.
The fire started near the Big Creek Trailhead Saturday
afternoon. The cause is under investigation.
The Wedge Canyon Fire in the North Fork of the Flathead River
drainage grew to a little more than 650 acres Sunday from 550 acres
on Saturday. The fire was grinding slowly to the east, and was
about five miles away from the nearest building, said spokesman
Allen Rowley.
Rowley said Flathead County commissioners were expected to pass
a resolution Monday ordering an evacuation from Whale Creek north
to the Canadian border.
In southwestern Montana, the Hidden Lake Fire was burning 350
acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest 30 miles
northwest of Dillon, coming within a half-mile of about a dozen
homes in the Grasshopper Subdivision. The fire more than doubled in
size from Saturday to Sunday.
The Blackwall Fire 20 miles west of Wisdom grew to 1,440 acres,
mostly on the Montana side of the Idaho border. There were 400
firefighters on the fire Sunday, up from 260 on Saturday.
The fire is burning in heavy timber, producing a great deal of
smoke, but didn't grow significantly in size Saturday, thanks to
low winds and afternoon cloud cover.
Spokeswoman Gail Baer said Sunday there was still plenty of
potential for the fire to grow, however, because of hot weather
predicted over the next several days.
Statewide, there's not much relief in sight, the National
Weather Service said.
Montana's forecast calls for more sunny skies through most of
the week. Some clouds are predicted by Wednesday west of the Divide
and in the Billings area, but the chance of showers appears slight.
Expected highs around the state through Wednesday range from the
mid-80s in central Montana to more than 100 west of the Continental
Divide.
Sunday was Helena's fourth straight day above 100 degrees.
Forecasters said they expected the unprecedented streak to extend
at least two more days. Helena's high of 103 broke the July 20
record of 102 set in 1893.
Great Falls, with 101, also experienced its fourth consecutive
day above the century mark. Roundup, at 104, was Montana's hot spot
Sunday. Melstone, Circle and Nashua recorded highs of 103. Missoula
reached 100.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/21

HELENA (AP) - A foursome of wildfires almost doubled in acreage
Monday along a rugged portion of the Missouri River as hundreds of
firefighters struggled to keep flames from reaching farm and ranch
homes scattered throughout the area.
The fires, now called the Missouri Breaks Complex, had burned
over 105,000 acres in the Missouri Breaks. The blaze has forced
about 50 people to evacuate from ranches as it blackened stands of
ponderosa pine and charred pastures and hayfields.
The Germaine fire grew from 30,000 acres to 83,000, partially
when it burned together with the 12,000-acre Indian Springs Fire.
The Big Coulee Fire grew from 18,000 acres to 21,000. After some
remapping, the Ghost Coulee Fire was estimated at 1,000 acres. The
fires were all sweeping through steep, rugged coulees.
Nick Giannettino, situation unit leader for the fires, said
crews were concentrating on protecting houses and other buildings
on area farms. Crews surrounded the Pine Grove School and a radio
repeater site near the school, McKelvey said.
"We've assigned all the resources to do line construction and
structure protection," he said. "They're making good progress. If
we get a little help from the weather, we'll do a number on this."
He said no additional evacuations were ordered Monday beyond the
23 homes affected Sunday.
Brenda Pluhar, whose father's ranch sits in the path of the
fire, looked out the kitchen window Monday afternoon and saw smoke
billowing into the sky from just a mile away.
To the north, south and east, she saw nothing but burned
landscape after family, friends and neighbors helped keep the
flames at bay Sunday night.
"Beyond a quarter of a mile, there's scorched land, scorched
hayfields and scorched trees," she said. "It's just devastating
watching the scenery go up in smoke."
Niles Stanton, a Brusett farmer who worked until early Monday
morning fighting the flames away from neighbors' homes, said the
battle has been difficult.
"When it's crowning in the trees and coming with such force,
you can't do much until it burns down into the grass," he said.
"If it doesn't get stopped, if we get a really hard west wind, you
might not stop it."
Pluhar said the flames moved so quickly that her family doesn't
know if their cattle survived.
"It's such rough country, we did not have enough time to go
down there with horses and get the cattle out," she said. "It
would have put our lives in danger."
More than 420 firefighters, along with 49 pumpers, nine water
tenders, three bulldozers and two helicopters were assigned to the
fires.
But forecasts of another day of 100-degree temperatures and
brisk winds turned out to be wrong and the calmer, cooler weather
across much of the state lent a hand to firefighters elsewhere.
"Yesterday we had 10-12 mph winds with gusts 16 to 25 mph,"
said Lisa Keibler, information officer for the Flathead National
Forest. "The no winds right now is definitely a big change and a
big help."
Keibler is working in Western Montana near the northwest edge of
Glacier Park at the Wedge Canyon Fire. That fire remained at about
4,600 acres after growing from 550 acres since Saturday. It held
steady Monday.
The fire was about six miles south of the Canadian border and
three miles west of the park. It was about two miles from the
nearest building in an area dotted with cabins, summer homes and
outbuildings, Kiebler said.
"It's not really moving, it's calm," she said.
More than 700 firefighters, and three helicopters, were assigned
to the fire.
Kiebler said about 100 homes in the path of the blaze were
evacuated for a second day despite the wildfire stalling Monday.
In the Bitterroot Valley, a state of emergency remained in place
as a precaution in case the Big Creek Fire near Victor continued to
grow.
The fire, which started Saturday, was mapped at 745 acres by
Monday.
Cass Cairns, fire information officer, said crews were using
Forest Service roads as fire lines around the flames, but the fire
continued moving to the southeast and was about four miles west of
Victor by midday Monday.
An evacuation plan for the area north and west of Victor was in
place, but no residents had been told to leave Monday, Cairns said.
Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman said people living west of
town were warned Monday of the possibility they may have to leave
their homes.
But, he added, "We're still hopeful that this team and fire
departments can hold the line and there won't have to be any forced
evacuations."
There were 140 firefighters on the fire, along with three
helicopters, 11 engines, two bulldozers and five water tenders.
In southwestern Montana, the Hidden Lake Fizelad burned 450
acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest 30 miles
northwest of Dillon, coming within a half-mile of about a dozen
homes in a subdivision. The fire, which more than doubled in size
Sunday, had 95 firefighters, two helicopters and seven pumper
engines working on it.
The Blackwall Fire, which burned into Montana from near Salmon,
Idaho, grew to 2,242 acres, mostly on the Montana side of the state
line. There were 400 firefighters on the fire.
---
On the Net:
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov/

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/22 summary

Here is a summary of the major wildfires in Montana:
Missouri Breaks Complex - 105,000 acres in the Missouri Breaks,
rough coulee country south of the Missouri River on or near the
C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Some ranches have evacuated.
Burning ponderosa pine, pastures, hay and wheat fields. Started as
four fires. The Germaine fire, 83,000 acres, joined the 12,000-acre
Indian Springs Fire. The Big Coulee Fire was at 21,000 acres, and
the Ghost Coulee Fire was estimated at 1,000 acres. Ten percent
contained.

Wedge Canyon Fire - 4,020 acres about three miles west of
Glacier National Park and six miles south of the Canadian border,
an area with numerous cabins, summer homes and outbuildings. Some
evacuations. More than 700 firefighters are assigned. Five percent
contained.

Trapper Creek Fire - 4,450 acres on Flattop Mountain, a remote
area north of Going to the Sun Road in the north-central part of
the park. Being watched, but not being suppressed. Highline Trail
from Granite Park to Pass Creek and Flattop Mountain trails closed.
The Fifty Mountain and Flattop Mountain campgrounds closed. Zero
containment.

Blackwall Fire - 2,885 acres 20 miles west of Wisdom in the
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest; burned into Montana from near
Salmon, Idaho, and now is mostly in Montana; 498 firefighters. Fire
is one mile from Montana 43, and pilot cars escort traffic from 10
a.m. to 10 p.m.

Big Creek Fire - 745 acres in the Bitterroot Valley, four miles
northwest of Victor; 140 firefighters, three helicopters, 11
engines, two bulldozers and five water tenders. Zero containment.

Hidden Lake Fire - 450 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge
National Forest 30 miles northwest of Dillon, coming within a
half-mile of about a dozen homes in a subdivision. Some
evacuations; 95 firefighters, two helicopters and seven pumper
engines. Zero containment.

Mickey Butte Fire - 3,350 acres on the C.M. Russell National
Wildlife Refuge, north of Fort Peck Lake, 50 miles south of Malta.
One-hundred percent contained.



(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

Close call- 7/23

BRUSETT (AP) - To Alan Drain, it wasn't scary. But to fire
officials, the fast-moving blaze that burned in a canyon on both
sides of Drain's rural cabin was definitely serious.
It could have trapped him and firefighters.
"Maybe I was not scared because I didn't know how bad it was,"
Drain said Wednesday, outside the log cabin. A wildfire had come
withink a few feet of it on Tuesday.
Drain and four firefighters were at the cabin in east-central
Montana cutting down trees and trying to remove potential fuels,
including stacks of wood on the porch, as a fire that had been
burning in the distance flared up and made a run up the canyon
around the cabin.
Polo Rodriguez, a captain with the Sierra Hot Shots, was there
with three crew members. He considered the option of getting into
the cabin, which would take an initial blast of heat. Help was
coming in the form of slurry bombers. And momentarily, "the roar
died down," he said.
Instead, everyone piled in to a dusty sport utility vehicle and
sped down the narrow dirt drive. Fire was on both sides of the
road.
"Experience and instinct told me to drive out," he said. "As
I did, it was perfect. An air tanker dropped on the house."
But the situation, he said, was "hairy," adding: "We lucked
out."

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/23

Federal government approves emergency funds for fire

(Denver-AP) -- The 121-thousand-acre fire burning in
east-central Montana has prompted the federal government to give a
helping hand.
Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA,
authorized Montana to use federal funds to help fight the Missouri
Breaks Complex fires near Jordan.
The authorization makes FEMA money avaiable for 75-percent of
the state's firefighting costs under an approved grant.
Fire management assistance goes through the President's Disaster
Relief fund and is used to fight fires that threaten major
disaster.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 23rd

Here is a summary of the major wildfires in Montana:

Missouri Breaks Complex - 122,000 acres in the Missouri Breaks,
rough coulee country south of the Missouri River on or near the
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. The complex is 10
percent contained. Some ranches have evacuated. Burning ponderosa
pine, pastures, hay and wheat fields. Started as four fires. The
Germaine Fire, 63,000 acres is joined with the 34,000-acre Indian
Springs Fire. The Germaine Fire is now about 30 percent contained.
The Big Coulee Fire was at 24,000 acres, and the Ghost Coulee Fire
was estimated at 1,000 acres. Ten percent contained. It remains
inactive.
---
Wheat Head Fire - 1,500 acres on private farm about eight miles
south of Laurel.
---
Wedge Canyon Fire - 4,250 acres about three miles west of
Glacier National Park and six miles south of the Canadian border,
an area with numerous cabins, summer homes and outbuildings. Some
evacuations. More than 700 firefighters are assigned. Five percent
contained.
---
Trapper Creek Fire - 4,300 acres on Flattop Mountain, a remote
area north of Going-to-the-Sun Road in the north-central part of
the park. Flared up Wednesday, forcing closure of part of
Going-to-the-Sun Road. Highline Trail from Granite Park to Pass
Creek and Flattop Mountain trails closed. The Fifty Mountain and
Flattop Mountain campgrounds closed. Zero containment. Officials
still deciding if they will fight it.
---
Roberts Fire - North of Columbia Falls near Spoon Lake and
burned into Glacier National Park. No acreage estimate.
---
Blackwall Fire - 3,175 acres 20 miles west of Wisdom in the
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest; burned into Montana from near
Salmon, Idaho, and now is mostly in Montana; 498 firefighters. Fire
is one mile from Montana 43, and pilot cars escort traffic from 10
a.m. to 10 p.m.
---
Frog Pond Fire - 4,000 acres in the Bitterroot National Forest
about 4 miles southwest of Lookout Pass near Blackwall Fire. Two
Hotshot crews and helicopters were withdrawn from the fire because
of 100-foot flame lengths and high winds. Likely started July 19
due to lightning. Helicopters worked to put out spot fires on the
east side of U.S. 93.
---
Big Creek Fire - 1,148 acres in the Bitterroot Valley, four
miles northwest of Victor; 378 persons on the fire, three
helicopters, 11 engines, two bulldozers and five water tenders.
Twenty-five percent contained.
---
Hidden Lake Fire - 1,000 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge
National Forest 30 miles northwest of Dillon, coming within a
half-mile of about a dozen homes in a subdivision. Some
evacuations; 95 firefighters, two helicopters and seven pumper
engines. Zero containment.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/24 summary

Here is a summary of the major wildfires in Montana:

Missouri Breaks Complex - 131,000 acres in the Missouri Breaks,
rough coulee country south of the Missouri River on and near the
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. The complex is 40
percent contained. Some ranches have evacuated. Burning ponderosa
pine, pastures, hay and wheat fields. Started as four fires. The
Germaine Fire, 63,000 acres is joined with the 34,000-acre Indian
Springs Fire. The Germaine Fire is now about 30 percent contained.
The Big Coulee Fire was at 24,000 acres, and the Ghost Coulee Fire
was estimated at 1,000 acres. Ten percent contained. It remains
inactive.
---
Wheat Head Fire - 2,000 acres on private farm about eight miles
south of Laurel.
---
Wedge Canyon Fire - 4,500 acres about three miles west of
Glacier National Park and six miles south of the Canadian border,
an area with numerous cabins, summer homes and outbuildings. Some
evacuations. More than 700 firefighters are assigned. Five percent
contained.
---
Trapper Creek Fire - 14,000 acres on Flattop Mountain, a remote
area north of Going-to-the-Sun Road in the north-central part of
the park. Flared up Wednesday, forcing closure of part of
Going-to-the-Sun Road. Highline Trail from Granite Park to Pass
Creek and Flattop Mountain trails closed. The Fifty Mountain and
Flattop Mountain campgrounds closed. Zero containment. Officials
still deciding if they will fight it.
---
Roberts Fire - North of Columbia Falls near Spoon Lake and
burned into Glacier National Park. More than 2,200.
---
Blackwall Fire - 3,175 acres 20 miles west of Wisdom in the
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest; burned into Montana from near
Salmon, Idaho, and now is mostly in Montana; 498 firefighters. Fire
is one mile from Montana 43, and pilot cars escort traffic from 10
a.m. to 10 p.m.
---
Frog Pond Fire - 4,000 acres in the Bitterroot National Forest
about 4 miles southwest of Lookout Pass near Blackwall Fire. Two
Hotshot crews and helicopters were withdrawn from the fire because
of 100-foot flame lengths and high winds. Likely started July 19
due to lightning. Helicopters worked to put out spot fires on the
east side of U.S. 93.
---
Big Creek Fire - 1,251 acres in the Bitterroot Valley, four
miles northwest of Victor; 499 persons on the fire, three
helicopters, 11 engines, two bulldozers and five water tenders.
Thirty-five percent contained.
---
Hidden Lake Fire - 2,500 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge
National Forest 30 miles northwest of Dillon, coming within a
half-mile of about a dozen homes in a subdivision. Some
evacuations; 95 firefighters, two helicopters and seven pumper
engines. Zero containment.


(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

July 24th

WEST GLACIER, Mont. (AP) - Thousands of people streamed out of
Glacier National Park Thursday, followed later by some National
Park Service personnel, as a trio of wildfires churned through
parked stands of timber, all of them uncontrolled.
Most of the western half of the more than 1 million-acre
national park was closed by nightfall.
The headquarters at West Glacier was ordered evacuated as one
fire approached to within two miles.
"It's time to go," said park spokeswoman Ay Vanderbilt. We're
looking right at this thing from headquarters."
Earlier, Glacier officials ordered campers and other visitors,
concession employees and nonessential park personnel out of the
Lake McDonald Valley and closed the west entrance at West Glacier
as the Roberts fire burned on. It entered the park Wednesday night
and had blackened about 2,200 acres, officials said. A call was out
for 400 firefighters.
"The purpose of the evacuation is to make sure the fire doesn't
get behind people and they don't have a way to get out of the
park," Glacier fire information officer Punky Moore said.
Park officials also ordered evacuation of the Many Glacier
Valley on the east edge of the park because of "red flag"
warnings that the danger of more wildfires was extremely high.
The park's chief concessionaire, Glacier Park Inc., ordered its
employees to leave Many Glacier Hotel and Swiftcurrent Inn earlier
in the day as a precaution. They were relocating to the Glacier
Park Lodge in East Glacier.
"We're looking at several thousand people," as a rough
estimate, who had to leave the park, Vanderbilt said. "I heard
someone describe the flow of traffic like rush hour in a large
city, going about 20 mph."
The refugees included about 600 concessions employees, a couple
of hundred park employees, mostly college-age seasonal workers, and
undetermined numbers of private landowners, campers, lodge guests
and day visitors, she said.
Going-to-the-Sun Road, the famed alpine highway over the
Continental Divide and the only east-west vehicle route across the
interior of the park, remained closed between Logan Pass and
Avalanche because of another fire that blew up Wednesday night.
Inside the park, the Trapper Creek fire had swelled to at least
14,000 acres by afternoon. It includes the smaller Wolf Gun and
Paul Bunyan fires, Moore said.
The Roberts fire raced out of the Flathead National Forest on
the west edge of Glacier Wednesday night and was bearing down on
the region around West Glacier, the park's western entrance.
The Roberts fire was estimated at 2,000 acres and had burned
into the park at the base of the Apgar Mountains, said fire
information officer Lisa Kiebler of the Flathead National Forest.
A second major fire in extreme northwest Montana, the Wedge
Canyon Fire, was at 4,500 acres, pushed by swirling winds across
the park's western border. Earlier in the day, it burned across a
fireline and jumped a road along the North Fork of the Flathead
River as it moved mostly east and south. The fire is about six
miles from the Canadian border, and was threatening numerous cabin
sites, officials said. Some 400 people were assigned to the fire.
Clark said backcountry campers were notified and evacuated and
people were very understanding about being forced to leave. "It
went very well," he said of the precautionary evacuations.
In north-central Montana, a 131,000-acre cluster of fires
remained the biggest in the state, but the fire boss said Thursday
that it was about half contained and manpower would be shifted
elsewhere soon.
A small portion of the fire complex burned down to For Peck
Lake.
"We turned a corner on this and things are going our way,"
said incident commander Jim Gray. Our stepdowns are starting and
it's going to go pretty rapidly. We're on a downhill slide."
Some burning on the south end of one fire, west of Jordan,
destroyed four old buildings, officials said.
Gray's top-level management team estimated the fire is 40
percent contained and could be circled with fire lines on Monday.
Firefighters are working in temperatures topping 100 degrees - 108
on Thursday to the east at Miles City.
Ground crews were backed by helicopters and two Canadian "super
scooper" airplanes, CL215s from Minnesota, dropping water on the
fires. The scooper planes can carry 2,000 gallons of water or
retardant and scoop water from Fort Peck Reservoir on the fly.
Costs of the firefighting effort was approaching $1.75 Thursday,
and officials estimated the final bill would reach $3.5 million.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Thursday that it
would pay up to 75 percent of the state's costs for the Missouri
Breaks fires.
Weather gave firefighters a break Thursday on the renamed
Blackfrog Fire - the merged Blackwall and Frog Pond Fires on the
southwestern edge of Montana and the southern end of the fire-prone
Bitterroot Valley. Temperatures have been in the 100-degree range,
with low humidity, but showed some improvement.
"The weather here is 85 degrees at 3 p.m.," information
officer Dixie Dies said. "We haven't had that in weeks. We have
overcast skies, the humidity is up - This is a very welcome day of
respite."
The combined fires totaled about 7,000 acres and grew little
overnight, she said. The combined firefighting force was about 500,
but more were arriving. U.S. 93 remained closed from Hamilton to
Salmon, Idaho, and U.S. 93-Montana 43 remained closed from Hamilton
to Dillon.
Cloud cover and rising humidity also cheered the 400
firefighters on the 1,251-acre Big Creek Fire four miles northwest
of Victor, said spokesman Pat Cross.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

7/27

Here is a summary of the major wildfires in Montana:
Wedge Canyon - 18,250 acres about three miles west of Glacier
National Park and six miles south of the Canadian border. Flathead
County sheriff reports six houses burned and nearly 20
outbuildings. Some evacuations. More than 600 firefighters are
assigned. Five percent contained.
---
Robert - 9,310 acres eight miles north of Columbia Falls near
Spoon Lake; burned into Glacier National Park and forced
evacuations. More than 500 firefighters assigned. Zero percent
contained. Major burnout of about 5,000 acres planned to protect
park villages of West Glacier and Apgar and about 500 homes and
cabins outside the park.
---
Trapper Creek - 16,300 acres on Flattop Mountain, a remote area
north of Going-to-the-Sun Road in the north-central part of the
park. Forced closure of part of Going-to-the-Sun Road. Highline
Trail from Granite Park to Pass Creek and Flattop Mountain trails
closed. The Fifty Mountain and Flattop Mountain campgrounds closed.
Thirty percent contained.
---
Black Frog Complex - Combined Blackwall and Frog Pond fires,
total 8,000 acres in the Bitterroot and Beaverhead-Deerlodge
national forests. Twenty percent contained. Frog Pond Fire is about
4 miles southwest of Lookout Pass in the Bitterroot. The Blackwall
Fire, 20 miles west of Wisdom in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National
Forest, burned into Montana from near Salmon, Idaho.
---
Big Creek - 1,339 acres in the Bitterroot Valley, four miles
northwest of Victor; more than 500 people on the fire, three
helicopters, 11 engines, two bulldozers and five water tenders.
Fifty percent contained.
---
Hidden Lake - 3,500 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National
Forest 30 miles northwest of Dillon, coming within a half-mile of
about a dozen homes in a subdivision. Some evacuations; 239
firefighters, two helicopters and seven pumper engines. Twenty-five
percent contained.
---
Missouri Breaks Complex - 130,927 acres in the Missouri Breaks,
rough coulee country south of the Missouri River on and near the
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. The complex is 100
percent contained. This will be the last report on these fires.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)