On Sunday, desert-dry air pushed by gusts topping 60 mph whipped wildfires across the region's forests, with flames jumping hard-fought firelines and sending firefighters scrambling.
But those same runs also pumped out lots of smoke, which actually shaded fires in other parts of the region. While that welcome shade had blown clear by Monday, so had the winds, leaving crews to pick up where they had left off late last week.
Brush Creek fire: Despite Sunday's winds, this 25,000-acre fire west of Whitefish is now considered about 40 percent contained, at a cost to date of $5.6 million.
“We're doing OK,” said information officer Mary Huels. “Today is better than yesterday. The wind is down, and that makes a huge difference.”
Before Sunday's blow, she said, crews had circled the blaze with fire lines, using burnouts to rob the southern side of heavy fuels.
Some of the hardest line to lay in, she said, was on the northern fringe, in especially rugged country. And that, of course, is exactly where the fire jumped the line Sunday.
“So now we're back in there, trying to build a new line,” she said. Water and retardant dumps assisted ground crews, in the attempt to buffer residents of Good Creek from the fire's leading edge.
Homeowners there have not been evacuated, but have been warned. At Star Meadows, an evacuation order persists. About 50 homes are considered in harm's way.
Tuesday, Huels said, is predicted to be a lot like Monday - warm and dry but with calm winds. Crews, she said, will continue protecting buildings and constructing lines.
Chippy Creek: A striking plume of smoke came off the Chippy fire Sunday, but when winds died Monday so did the column.
The 67,000-acre wildfire, burning 20 miles north of Plains and 12 miles northwest of Hot Springs, is being fought by 500 people across tribal, state, federal and private land, through timber and grass and logging slash.
Some residents, evacuated from along the eastern side of the fire, are now back in their homes, although homeowners in the Hubbart Reservoir subdivision remain evacuated.
On Monday, crews split into two camps to better attack the blaze, working from both the air and the ground.
Ahorn: Burning 30 miles west of Augusta, this 44,000-acre fire continues to bedevil crews working to keep it away from homes in the Gibson Reservoir, Stoner and Benchmark areas. Those residents remain evacuated, and the Benchmark airstrip is now closed.
“It's been awfully warm and dry,” said public information officer Jody Eberly. “Relative humidity in the Benchmark area is only about 10 percent.”
In fact, she said, forests there have now dried to near record levels, with a month of summer still to come.
Fortunately, she said, smoke from Montana and Idaho forest fires has choked the skies, shading the Ahorn fire and keeping humidities up a bit.
“That smoke is very good news for us,” Eberly said. “It's not so good for people who have trouble breathing, though.”
On Monday, crews continued to cut trees along critical roadways, hoping to clear a wide firebreak should the blaze make any unexpected runs. They also worked to protect buildings, Eberly said, which has been an ongoing concern.
“We're just going to keep on doing what we've been doing,” she said, “and hope for the best.”
Skyland: Crews say they have this fire more than halfway contained now, despite weekend winds that topped 65 mph.
“It's a beautiful day,” said information officer Pat Cleary. “The winds have died down, the temperatures are cooling off and the humidity is up.”
All of which is good news on this 40,000-acre fire burning in a long, narrow strip from Marias Pass toward East Glacier.
Crews, Cleary said, have spiked camps on Skyland's southern border, and are at work to secure fireline there.
“But we're pretty confident that the north and the east sides of the fire are all locked down,” he said. Rough terrain makes for slow going to the northwest, he said, “but things are definitely looking up.”
Fool Creek: “The leaves are hanging slack, which means no wind today,” said Jack de Golia, information officer on this 32,000-acre fire 30 miles west of Choteau. “That's good for us.”
On Sunday, remarkably dry conditions pushed this wilderness fire into the Mount May area, and it heated up also near Crazy Creek, to the northeast.
“But we had some shade under the smoke,” de Golia said. “It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.”
On Monday, winds calmed and aircraft got back to work dropping water, especially near summer cabins and the Teton Pass ski area. That recreation site, he said, is about one mile from the fire front.
“We're using lots of water,” de Golia said, “especially anywhere we think it might make a run for the plains.”
Reporter Michael Jamison can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at mjamison@missoulian.com
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