With the larger fuels essentially drier than kiln-dried lumber and the smaller stuff almost off the bottom of the fuel moisture chart, everything in the fire's path ignites easily and burns with an intensity rarely seen.
“None of us have any historical context to this fire,” Doty said. “We are seeing things every day that none of us have seen or heard about in our career.”
Many of those sitting in the bleachers were going through their second evacuation from their homes and summer cabins.
After the fire made a run on the eastern edge toward the Eagle Point Subdivision on Sunday, several residents on the west side of Seeley Lake were evacuated, including Ron Schulfer and his wife.
“It's been a brutal experience,” Schulfer said Monday night while waiting for the Bonner briefing to begin. “All of these people have been just unbelievable in the way they've helped us through it all. If it wasn't for these people, I'd be a nervous wreck.”
Schulfer has lived in the Overland Trail area since May 2006. The fire is burning less than two miles away from his family home.
“Right from the very first night when we were told we had to go, I knew these guys were pros,” he said. “I told my wife we're in good hands.”
Those hands were put to the test late Sunday night and into Monday morn. With spot fires threatening homes in the Eagle Point subdivision, structure crews foamed a number of homes and burned out the vegetation surrounding them.
Crews worked through the night to build direct lines in the Beaver Creek Road area.
By Monday, operations section chief Chip Houde said the situation was looking better.
“They are working shoulder to shoulder in there,” Houde said. “Hopefully, we're going to be able to say we held on to it ... and it will soon be good enough so you can go back home.”
If that happens, Houde said, residents “will need to stay on your toes and be ready to go in 60 minutes again.”
A south wind caused the fire to flare on the north end Monday. Dozers and crews responded without the help of aircraft, which was grounded due to heavy smoke.
“We don't want it to go any farther north and reach populated areas,” Houde said.
The next challenge will come Thursday when a low pressure system is expected to sweep through the area.
“There's going to be a good chance for a lot of lightning and not a lot of moisture,” said Kent Slaughter, a fire behavior analyst.
That's troubling considering that fire behavior has been extreme.
A 15-mph breeze on the north side of the blaze was creating spot fires a half mile away Monday, Slaughter said. On the eastern edge, the fire was spotting in the crowns without a ground fire, he said.
On Monday, the Missoula County Sheriff's Office arrested Elizabeth Sleath after she allegedly attempted to start two fires near the Elkhorn Cafe in Seeley Lake, said Missoula County Undersheriff Mike Dominick. She was charged with two counts of felony arson.
“Our department is putting a lot of time in the area,” Dominick told the crowd. “We're still in there protecting homes. We're still stopping everything that moves.”
The Jocko Lakes fire remains the No. 1 priority blaze in the nation, said Doty.
Firefighters from as far away as Alaska and New Mexico are helping on the front lines.
“We're calling up resources from everywhere we can possibly get them,” Doty said. “Those resources are getting stretched thin.”
As of Monday, the 22,000-acre fire is being fought with about 900 firefighters, 45 engines, 14 dozers, and five helicopters. So far, the effort has cost about $7 million.
On the Bitterroot National Forest, lower temperatures, lighter winds and higher humidity helped put the brakes on the Rombo Mountain fire.
“The fire is still moving to the southeast, which if it has to burn, that's the direction we want it to move,” said Nan Christianson of the Bitterroot National Forest.
If the blaze continues to move in that direction, it will burn into areas charred in 2000.
“That would help quiet it down quite a bit,” Christianson said.
The management team on the Rombo fire will hold a public briefing and answer questions at the Painted Rocks Lake boat ramp on Tuesday and at the Sula Clubhouse on Wednesday. The meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Sula Rural Volunteer Fire Department, Sula Ranger District and Ravalli County Sheriff's Department will be on hand to answer questions.
For more information, call 821-0082.
The Tin Cup fire directly west of Darby is 100 percent contained. Firefighters will continue to mop up hot spots within 300 feet of the fire perimeter.
Reporter Perry Backus can be reached at 523-5259 or at pbackus@missoulian.com
A place to stay
The Missoula Family YMCA has opened its doors to families that have been put out of their homes by wildfire. For more information, call 721-YMCA.
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