Above: Map showing the perimeter of the Sunrise Fire, at 11:30 p.m. MDT July 26, 2017.
(Originally published at 9:06 a.m. MDT July 27, 2017)
Most of the wildfires in Western Montana within 70 miles of Missoula that we wrote about Tuesday were relatively quiet Wednesday night. The exception was the Sunrise Fire 39 miles northwest of Missoula and 6 miles south of Riverbend.
At the time of an 11:30 p.m. MDT mapping flight the fire was very active on the northeast side and had added 948 acres during the previous 24 hours to bring the total number of acres burned up to 3,686. The fire is threatening about 60 homes and cabins.
Wednesday afternoon the Mineral County Sheriff’s office ordered the evacuation “in an orderly manner” of Sunrise and Quartz Flats.
On Thursday firefighters are working on dozer lines around structures in the Sunrise Creek subdivision and plan to improve the structure protection in Quartz Creek, Quartz Flat, and Sunrise Creek.
The video below was shot Wednesday evening by KECI, apparently from the Incident Command Post.
#SunriseFire near Superior blows up this evening pic.twitter.com/PsQJ4qihM8
— Montana MacLachlan (@MontanaNBCMT) July 27, 2017
An executive order signed by the Governor of Montana Sunday will enable the state to mobilize National Guard helicopters (Blackhawks and CH47), some firefighters, and kitchens. It also makes it possible for local governments to access the Governor’s emergency fund if they have enacted their own 2 mil levy.
All articles about the Sunrise Fire can be found HERE, with the most recent at the top of the page.
