“I'm not sure we have ever had three major Missoula County communities threatened simultaneously like we do now,” McMeekin said. “Everybody is rising to the occasion.”
As predicted, a cold front blew into western Montana at mid-afternoon, bringing wind speeds that hit 55 mph at one spike camp on the Chippy Creek fire north of Plains.
But as darkness fell, the windstorm had abated and rain - or at least a drizzle - was reported at most fire camps.
Here's a look at the day's events at western Montana's largest wildfires:
Jocko Lakes fire: Winds gusting to 35 mph chased Placid Lake residents from their homes yet again Sunday afternoon, as the 31,520-acre Jocko Lakes wildfire resumed its march.
Pushed by the wind, the fire covered new acreage to the south, jumping through the old Boles Creek burn where firefighters thought the flames might run out of fuel.
“We were afraid it would move to the south during the thunderstorm, then when we got the normal west wind again, it would turn that finger of fire back into Placid Lake,” said fire information officer Pete Buist. “That did not happen, but we were prepared had it done so.”
The evacuation was mandatory, but precautionary. It remains in effect.
“We have gone back in and driven some of those roads,” Buist said late Sunday. “But we're still trying to figure out exactly where the fire burned in there. Until we're able to get some line around it and calm things down, we won't let people back in again.”
“We're sympathetic to the residents, but we've got to take the safe approach,” he said.
Sunday afternoon's winds also fanned flames on the fire's northern edge.
“The fascinating thing about this piece of real estate is you can have wind from one direction one minute and from a completely different direction the next,” Buist said. “The way the valleys come together here, it makes for some interesting weather.”
Firefighters don't think the fire crossed Deer Creek or Deer Creek Road during the windstorm, but “there was some increased acreage in the northwestern corner,” he said.
After dark, the command post was getting some moisture, and there were reports of drizzling rain from other parts of the fire.
Cooler temperatures and higher relative humidities are expected for the next two days - “and less wind,” Buist said. “That should give us a chance to grab hold of what took off tonight.”
Sawmill Complex: Smoke was so thick in the Rock Creek drainage Sunday night that firefighters couldn't see where three wildfires burning there had traveled during an afternoon windstorm.
They knew the Sawmill fire had spotted south of Welcome Creek, and had burned quickly and fiercely up slope.
They knew the Wyman 2 fire had spotted on the south side of Stony Creek.
And they knew the Fisher Point fire had come within 1 1/2 miles of Upper Willow Creek Road, prompting evacuation orders for residents from Tindall Gulch to Gilbert Creek.
Rock Creek Road was also closed to all travel along 25 miles starting at Interstate 90 because of the winds, which gusted to 30 mph as a cold front moved into the area.
Fire information officer Al Barbian said none of the four families within the new evacuation zone left their homes, despite the mandatory order from Granite County authorities.
Engines also stayed on the line into the night, waiting for the fire to lie down.
“But it's just hard to say what happened today, it's so smoky here,” Barbian said. “It's going to be a wait-and-see night. We'll know a lot more tomorrow.”
Before Sunday's burning, the Sawmill Complex fires had crossed 50,575 acres along and around Rock Creek. They are considered just 10 percent contained.
The good news: It was drizzling on the fire camp as darkness fell on Rock Creek.
Rombo Mountain fire: Sunday afternoon's winds sent the Rombo fire running aggressively to the east-northeast.
Evacuation orders were already in effect for 30 homes south of the Trapper Creek Job Corps Center to Lloyd Creek. Then came preliminary evacuation notices for 35 homes between Lloyd Creek and Lavene Creek, and for residents between Warm Springs Creek west to Conner.
The day began with the Rombo fire having burned across 17,000 acres of the Bitterroot National Forest. A lightning start, the fire is 16 miles south of Conner and four miles northeast of Painted Rocks Reservoir.
Late Sunday night, fire information officers still had no report on how much new terrain had been burned during the windstorm.
Chippy Creek fire: Rain is headed for the 96,154-acre Chippy Creek fire, as much as a half-inch.
“We want to make hay these next two days,” fire information officer Warren Bielenberg said. “Monday and Tuesday are supposed to bring really good weather for fighting fire.”
Temperatures, in fact, may not get out of the 50s at Chippy Creek, which since July 31 has been burning 20 miles north of Plains and 12 miles north/northwest of Hot Springs.
Amazingly, firefighters held their own Sunday afternoon, despite reports of 55-mph winds at a remote spike camp.
“The wind blew down every tent and shelter at the camp,” Bielenberg said. “But crews really made good progress this morning when the fire was on the ground. They could almost get right up on it, so they were ready when the wind started blowing. It was huge.”
Good progress was reported on the southwest side of the fire, near the North Fork of the Little Thompson River.
Most of Monday's effort will be concentrated on the north end, where the fire has spotted into the head of the Muir Creek drainage. “Some of the spotting went over the initial lines, but it didn't go over the contingency lines,” Bielenberg said. “So we are getting that under control.”
Residents along Hubbard Dam Road, from the junction with Niarada Road north to the Hubbard Dam subdivision, remain under an evacuation order.
The fire is at 30 percent containment.
Brush Creek fire: “The weather is just great for fighting fire.”
That was the report Sunday night from Scott Hereford, fire information officer for the 28,928-acre Brush Creek fire burning west of Whitefish.
“Considering the challenges facing a lot of other fires in the region, folks here are feeling pretty good,” Hereford said. “We got a lot of line built today, and we're up to 85 percent containment.”
Winds did hit the fire on Sunday afternoon, he said, “but it was cool and overcast so there wasn't a lot of heat out on the fire and everything stayed within the lines.”
Firefighters were able to hook the northeast corner of the fire, according to Hereford, while helicopters cooled hot spots inside the line.
With the cold front expected to keep humidities high and temperatures low Monday and Tuesday, firefighters should make substantial progress, he added.
“We're hoping for more weather just like this,” Hereford said. “It's allowed a lot of good work to get done.”
Dillon area fires: Fierce winds blew smoke into southwestern Montana just after 4 on Sunday afternoon, with visibility in Butte dropping to 1 1/4 miles and winds hitting 49 mph in Dillon, Virginia City and Brenner.
Much of Dillon, including the hospital, sheriff's dispatch and U.S. Forest Service lost power for more than an hour.
Despite many worried residents who feared the thick smoke meant new fires were burning in the area, patrol engines found no major fires, said information officer Jon Kohn.
One tree was found in flames south of Butte, and a hay bale and tractor were burning south of Wisdom.
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