Gold Pan Wildfire – Bitterroot National Forest – 0900 MST
Yesterday firefighters concentrated on work in three specific areas of the fire – control of spot fires north of the Magruder road, fire line construction between the Magruder road and Pole Mountain, and structure protection at Observation Point and along the Paradise road. The objective is to keep the fire south of Magruder road, west of Paradise road, and west of Hells Half Acre road within the wilderness boundary. They also worked on construction of contingency lines in the West Fork Valley in the Tough Creek area and north of the Nez Perce road/West Fork road junction.
Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 80’s today, with relative humidity in the teens and westerly winds of 5 to 15 miles per hour, gusting to 20 MPH. Fire activity is expected to increase daily as fuels continue to dry out. This fire will be a long duration event due to its’ size, terrain, fuels and the dry warm weather expected during the prime fire season in this part of Montana and Idaho.
Today helicopters will continue using two dip tanks located at Magruder Ranger Station and Cayuse Creek to support firefighters on the ground. In addition to engines and crews holding the fire south of the Magruder road and keeping the road open as an escape route, several crews using hand tools will continue construction of direct fire line on the northeast corner of the fire between the Magruder road and Pole Mountain to the south. Structure protection will also continue along the Paradise road.
The fuel break contingency fire line from Nez Perce road south towards Painted Rocks Lake will be nearly completed by the end of the day, utilizing Forest roads, natural openings and past fire scars. Heavy equipment including two feller-bunchers, an excavator and a dozer will continue operation in this area. Hand crews will be building fire line south to tie this line into the Forest road system west of Painted Rocks Lake. Hand crews will also be finishing up a second contingency line north of the Nez Perce road/West Fork road junction.
There are 446 personnel assigned to the fire including three Type 1 crews, five Type 2 crews, six helicopters, ten engines, two feller-bunchers and one dozer. The fire is now 16,342 acres.Road Guards on the Magruder road closure are located at Fales Flat campground on the east and Observation Point (Idaho) on the west. Fales Flat campground remains open to the public. Road guards are also located at Forest road No. 5644 at its’ junction with Nez Perce road and at Mud Creek saddle; and Forest road No. 1303 west of Blue Joint Bay at its’ junction with Forest road no. 362.
Closures: An emergency closure order is in place that surrounds the fire. The closure order and associated map can be viewed at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3538/ . All forest service roads and trails within this area are closed. Three roads are closed in the West Fork Valley associated with contingency line construction. There is also a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over the fire.
For the latest fire information/photos http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3538/ . Stay in touch with the Bitterroot National Forest through www.facebook.com/DiscoverTheBitterroot andwww.twitter.com/BitterrootNF.
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Emigrant Fire – Gallant National Fire – 0900 MST
YESTERDAY’S ACTIVITY: Minimal fire activity was seen again on the fire yesterday. A small amount of smoke was seen coming from the Gold Prize Creek drainage as the fire continues to burn in the large dead and down fuels. Fire personnel monitored the fire from Sixmile Road.
SUNDAY’S PLANNED ACTIVITY: Two helicopters remain assigned to the fire, and will be available to assist with initial attack fires in the area when needed. Fire personnel will continue to monitor and scout for any increased fire activity.
FIRE WEATHER: There is just a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms today and Monday over the fire site as the area remains on the edge of drier air to the west. Winds will be light and out of the west to northwest in the afternoon. Humidities will be lower this afternoon than in recent days. Expected high temperature today is 79 degrees with a minimum humidity of 18%.
CLOSURES & OTHER INFORMATION: Dailey Lake and most surrounding camping areas are open to recreationists. Emigrant Fire Helibase is located on a bench approximately ¼ mile north of the lake, and that area is the only portion closed to the public at Dailey Lake Recreation area. Please be cautious of fire traffic on Dailey Lake Road.
The Forest Service portion of Sixmile Creek Road from its junction with the Dailey Lake Road will be closed until further notice.
The Sixmile Creek Trial (#61) and North Fork of Sixmile Creek Trail (#606) will be closed to their junction with Trail #601 north of Monitor Peak. Connector Trail #601 will remain open.
A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area to ensure the safety of the aerial fire operations.
Basic Information
| Incident Type | Wildfire |
|---|---|
| Cause | Lightning Holdover |
| Date of Origin | Sunday July 21st, 2013 approx. 11:00 AM |
| Location | South of Emigrant Peak, between Gold Prize Creek and North Fork of Sixmile Creek |
| Incident Commander | Jeff Shanafelt |
Current Situation
| Total Personnel | 30 |
|---|---|
| Size | 621 acres |
| Percent Contained | 5% |
| Fuels Involved | 10 Timber (litter and understory) Fuel models rage from open grass to tiber stads with heavy fuel loadings (slash has been reported to be 10 feet deep in places). |
| Fire Behavior | Minimal – Creeping and smoldering. |
| Significant Events | Type 3 helicopter is back at the helibase. The Kmax helicopter was down for maintenance at Bozeman airport. Fire was monitored from the road system. Road and trail closure is still in effect. |
Outlook
| Planned Actions | Fire personnel will be monitoring the fire from the road. |
|---|---|
| Growth Potential | High |
| Terrain Difficulty | Extreme |
Current Weather
| Wind Conditions | 3-9 mph S |
|---|---|
| Temperature | 64 degrees |
| Humidity | 45% |
UNIT INFORMATION
U.S. Forest Service
10 East Babcock Ave.
P.O. Box 130
Federal Building
Bozeman, MT 59771
INCIDENT CONTACT
Phone: 406-223-2028
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Moose Meadows Fire – Beaverhead Deerlodge – 0800 MST
Incident: Wildland fire, lightning-caused, reported on July 25, 2013
Location: 18 miles southeast of Philipsburg, MT and 15 miles west of Georgetown Lake, MT
Jurisdiction: Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests
Cooperating Agencies: Other cooperating entities include the Philipsburg Volunteer Fire Department, Montana DNRC, American Red Cross, Granite County Sheriff and DES.
Incident Commander: Shawn Pearson, Northern Rockies Type II Incident Management Team (IMT).
Current Size: 3,500 acres Containment: 50%
Strategy: Full Suppression Structures Threatened: 30 Structures Lost: 0 Structure Protection:Implemented
Yesterday’s Activity: Clear, dry weather resulted in increased fire behavior yesterday than the previous couple of days as fuels continue to dry out. Firefighting conditions remained optimal with minimal fire activity enabling crews to continue constructing line where needed, mop-up areas where line already exists, and extinguish hot spots as they appeared. Air operations assisted crews with water drops in problem spots. Containment remains at 50%.
Current Resources: The number of firefighters on the incident is 462. Resources assigned include tencrews, three helicopters, five engines, one water tender, one dozer and support personnel.
Today’s Activity: The continued weather trend is for slightly warmer temperatures and slightly lower humidity’s which may result in occasional single-tree torching. Overall fire activity will be relatively mild. Today’s focus will be continued mop-up and reinforcement of fireline, with emphasis on the northeast and southeast flanks where the majority of the hot spots remain. In locations where containment is secure, crews will remove hose and excess equipment. Helicopters will assist crews with bucket work on hot spots and sling loading excess materials out from more secure fireline locations.
Special Messages/Closures: The Granite County Sheriff is maintaining the Stage 2 Evacuation Warning for the Middle Fork Road and the Moose Lake area. The warning serves as notification that residents may still need to evacuate in the future. The Middle Fork road will be open to residents but remains closed to the general public. Because of concerns for public health and safety, the fire area remains under a Forest Closure Order No. 2013-D8-029. The following trails within the closure area are closed: 8109, 8020, 8162, 8019, and 8161. Trail 313 is open; however, NF lands within the above described boundary to the north of Trail 313 are closed.
For further information, visit: www.inciweb.nwcg.gov; Select “Moose Meadows”
Source: inciweb.org
2013 The NW Fire Blog
NW Fire Blog 
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