A fire driven by high winds in the Paradise Valley south of Livingston had destroyed three residences and six outbuildings, according to reports Monday morning.
Additional residences, outbuildings, watersheds and commercial timber were listed as threatened.
Firefighters asked residents of the South Glasbury Subdivision to voluntarily evacuate.
The fire exploded from a few acres on Saturday to 12,000 acres Sunday night.
Marilyn Krause, fire information office on the Big Creek fire about five miles southwest of Emigrant in the Paradise Valley, said that fire started Saturday night and was of unknown origin. The fire was small at first, she said, but then “the winds started blowing as only they can in the Paradise Valley” and it had grown to more than 10,000 acres by Sunday evening.
Intense heat combined with high winds to spread the fire “by leaps and bounds” overnight, she said. At 1 a.m. Sunday, it was still 87 degrees near Emigrant, Krause said.
About 50 firefighters were on the scene, aided by airplanes dropping retardant and helicopters dropping water, but air operations were hampered by the strong winds. More engines were supposed to be arriving at the scene of the fire today, she said.
The Big Creek fire was burning in a variety of terrain, from sagegrass-covered flats on the floor of the valley up into steep, deeply wooded hillsides. The fire was expected to spread last night or today into the area where the Fridley fire burned in 2001, she said.
Ten miles south of Livingston in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, the South Pine fire had burned 788 acres as of Sunday night and was 40 percent contained, Krause said. A report Monday morning said containment was expected to remain at 40 percent unless significant amounts of moisture hit the fire area.
Owl fire nears containment
Near Lodge Grass, the 5,400-acre Owl fire was considered 87 percent contained Sunday night, and firefighters were holding their breath for predicted thunderstorms moving through the area.
Meanwhile, firefighters were preparing for the worst near Crow Agency Sunday night. Jon Kohn, a spokesman for the Crow Agency Bureau of Indian Affairs Wildland Fire Management Office, said a red-flag warning for the area was issued Sunday at noon and will remain in effect until today at 6 p.m.
The warning was issued because of National Weather Service predictions of gusty northwest winds and thunderstorms riding into the area on a cold front. As of about 9:30 p.m. Sunday there hadn’t been any lightning, Kohn said, but there was still the possibility of lightning overnight. And. with fuels so dry, he said, nine out of 10 lightning strikes were likely to ignite a fire.
Because the 115 firefighters working on the Owl fire, 10 miles southeast of Lodge Grass, had been making good progress, some resources from the fire were repositioned in Crow Agency Sunday evening, ready to respond to fires elsewhere in the area, Kohn said.
Two other small fires on the Crow Indian Reservation were quickly extinguished Sunday — one caused by fireworks in Benteen and another of unknown origin near the Crow Agency Head Start building.
Meanwhile, the Hutchinson Coulee fire, which burned 300 acres about 17 miles north of Roundup, was considered contained and was being checked periodically by fire crews, said John Thompson of the Billings Interagency Dispatch. Two other small fires near Roundup were doused early Sunday, he added.
Glacier Park fire
Elsewhere in Montana, officials at Glacier National Park have asked people to evacuate the Cut Bank Creek campground as a cold front with strong winds pushed through the park Sunday evening and fueled the growth of the Red Eagle fire.
Fire information officer Shannon Downey said a flyover Sunday morning indicated the size of the fire had grown to 22,200 acres — or 34 square miles. The fire had been estimated at 8,600 acres Saturday evening.
Downey said she expected the fire would grow “quite a bit bigger” because of high winds. A high wind warning was in effect until 10 p.m. Sunday, with gusts around 50 mph in the forecast.
In addition to the Cut Bank Creek campground, all Cut Bank area trails and the park’s backcountry campground at Atlantic Creek are closed, a Glacier National Park news release said.
A heavy-duty helicopter arrived at the site Sunday morning, and more personnel and resources have been “trickling in,” Downey said.
Downey said the Blackfeet Tribe was asking residents near Cut Bank Creek to be ready to evacuate.
The Glacier County sheriff’s office already urged residents and campers to evacuate the St. Mary’s area Saturday, but it was unknown Sunday how many actually did so.
The fire came within a mile of structures in the St. Mary’s area, fire-information officer Pat McKelvey said Sunday morning.
U.S. Highway 89 north of Browning remained closed, Downing said. Going-to-the-Sun Road in the park is open from the west entrance to Rising Sun, where visitors are being asked to turn around.
The remainder of Glacier National Park remains open to visitors.
The cause of the fire, which was first reported Friday, remains under investigation.
St. Mary is on the eastern edge of Glacier National Park. Fewer than 50 people live there year-round.
Bitterroot blazes
Meanwhile, the Sweathouse Creek area in the Bitterroot National Forest has been closed because a spot fire left the main Gash Creek fire last night, said fire-information officer Elsha Kirby.
“It was closed because of safety concerns,” Kirby said.
Lower temperatures Sunday have been slowing the fire activity, but the wind was creating problems as well, Kirby said.
A plane being used to fight the fire, which is estimated at 1,650 acres, had to be grounded Sunday afternoon because of high winds, Kirby said. No helicopters had to be grounded, however.
The fire is six miles southwest of Victor.
Also in the Bitterroot Valley, the Woodchuck fire continued to burn trees and grass six miles northeast of Florence. The 1,060-acre fire was estimated at 70 percent contained Sunday morning.
Gazette reporter Lorna Thackeray and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Published on Monday, July 31, 2006. Last modified on 7/31/2006 at 4:45 pm
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opportunity
wrote on
July 31, 2006 6:10 AM Given the size of this fire, here is a great chance for Sen Burns to hit the fire lines and show these guys who just sit around how a real firefighter works. His campaign could film it and make a great political ad for him. My guess is that we won't see Conrad within miles of it, because he has to be sitting on his butt in his senate office.
fly fisher
wrote on
July 31, 2006 7:21 AM Obviously they were sitting on their butts because they should of had it out saturday night when it was a acre or two, now it is huge. But that is what fire officials like to do, manage a fire poorly till it gets huge and then try to but it out, that way there paychecks are much larger. Conrad has every right to be upset at the way fires are managed in this country. I saw the fire last night and they will be damn lucky if no structures were lost.
Doe
wrote on
July 31, 2006 10:14 AM Fly Fisher -- keep fishing, stop armchair firefighting. The Big Creek fire grew from 2 acres to 50 within an hour on Saturday -- severe wind driven fire behavior, a resource shortage across the western states -- firefighters, including the team now managing the fire, are doing the best they can with the resources available to them while insuring NUMBER ONE public and firefighter safety. If they could've caught it small, they would've.
Grumpy
wrote on
July 31, 2006 10:30 AM Fifty firefighters watching a few acres turn into 10,000 acres and surprised by high winds in Paradise Valley. Conrad had a right to be frustrated by scenes like this.
Local FF
wrote on
July 31, 2006 11:20 AM Fly fisher you should have remained silent rather than reveal your ignorance of fire weather.
to fly fisher
wrote on
July 31, 2006 11:34 AM if you don't like what they are doing go out there yourself your not but a lazy good for nothing sitting if front of the computer whinning. Those firefighter are risking there lives and not all fires can be put out when they are an acre or to you don't know all the circumstances. I'm sure they won't mind your help but your probably to lazy to get out of bed to help!
helper
wrote on
July 31, 2006 1:16 PM Is there anything an average person can do to help out the firefighters in the area?
Helper:
wrote on
July 31, 2006 3:52 PM Contact your local fire agency they will let you know they may even pay
ninja
wrote on
July 31, 2006 5:55 PM obviously flyfisher has first hand experience, as have I.
Do a little checking as to who owns "trucks" etc. And who chooses who will be on the fire.
Many conflicts of interest.
Advice to land/homeowners who are affected: VIDEO everything, every conversation with every fifefighter,
daily progress/setbacks. Otherwise NO ONE will believe you afterwards, least of all a court.
Supporter of Fly Fisher
wrote on
July 31, 2006 6:09 PM I too watched (in shock) a fire crew (truck, helicopter, etc.) sat and did nothing while a fire raged across acres of land. I am not a supporter of Burns, but he maybe right.
dekwkg
wrote on
July 31, 2006 6:42 PM fly fisher--this is what Opportunity had in mind. Conrad, knowing that fire fighters just sit on their butt, could have stepped forward and put his actions where is mouth is. Oh wait-- as a big spending Repub, it is so much better just to "talk the talk" instead of "walk the walk."
Joe
wrote on
July 31, 2006 11:09 PM Hey, has anyone phoned the Augusta hot shot crew to come help. I am sure that they would gladly vote to come back to Mt. especially with the support of the conservatives supporting CONrad.
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