Above: 3-D map of the Sunrise Fire showing the perimeter at 12:30 a.m. MDT Jul 29, 2017.
(Originally published at 10:36 a.m. MDT July 29, 2017)
The Sunrise Fire continued to grow closer to the small community of Quartz, Montana on Friday, spreading east 1.2 miles on the southeast side closing in on Whisky Gulch Road to come within 1.0 to 1.3 miles of the Clark Fork River. It started July 16 in the Lolo National Forest 39 miles northwest of Missoula and 6 miles south of Riverbend.
The fire added another 1,200 acres on Friday expanding to about 5,500 acres as of the 12:30 a.m. mapping flight Saturday. One spot fire was found 0.4 miles ahead of the fire on the southeast side.
Sunrise Fire photo by Phil Milette, undated.
The Mineral County Sheriff added Quartz Creek to the list of evacuated areas which also includes Sunrise Creek and Quartz Flats.
Resources assigned to the fire: 14 hand crews, 5 dozers, 18 engines, 4 helicopters, 14 water tenders, 4 Skidgens, and 1 Masticator for a total of 522 personnel.
The weather forecast for the fire area for Saturday predicts temperatures in the mid-90s, relative humidity in the high teens, with winds out of the south switching to the northwest at 2 to 5 mph.
Firefighters on the Sunrise Fire apply protective wrap to historic structure. Photo by Todd McDivitt, undated.
All articles about the Sunrise Fire can be found HERE, with the most recent at the top of the page.
12 Incident Management Teams and no Area Command Teams are assigned.
The National Incident Management Situation Report (IMSR) shows 28 large fires in the Northern Rockies Geographic Area (NRCC), which is comprised of Montana, Northern Idaho, and portions of North Dakota and South Dakota. The screengrab below from the IMSR shows 18 of the 28 fires.
The IMSR and the NRCC web site have different criteria for reporting their statistics, but according to the NRCC they have the following 12 Incident Management Teams committed:
Type 1: Four
Type 2: Five
Type 3: Three
Wildfires on the Lolo National Forest listed on Inciweb at 10:43 a.m. MST July 28, 2017.
As you can see in the image above, the Lolo National Forest alone, which sprawls out in three directions from Missoula, has six fires larger than 1,000 acres plus three others. The workload on the fire management staff managing all those fires, procuring and allocating resources, and supervising the incident management teams has to be overwhelming.
In spite of this intense fire activity, no Area Command Teams have been assigned according to today’s IMSR. This is consistent with how the teams have rarely been used in recent years. In 2015 the number of teams was reduced from four to three.
Above: Safety Officer Breck Hudson speaks at the Sunrise Fire operational period briefing. Undated photo by Jennifer Russell.
(Originally published at 10:33 a.m. MDT July 28,2017)
The Sunrise Fire in Western Montana has continued to spread over the last two days at a moderate pace, eating up another 500 to 1,000 acres each day 39 miles northwest of Missoula and 6 miles south of Riverbend.
At the time of the last mapping flight Thursday night it had grown by about 600 acres in the previous 24 hours to a total of approximately 4,300 acres. As on previous days, most of the spread was on the east side where it is now about 2 miles west of the Clark Fork River. In that area the fire at times has been exhibiting extreme fire behavior with long-range spotting taking place.
It has the highest priority ranking of the 28 large fires in the Northern Rockies Geographic Area, which means Shawn Pearson’s Northern Rockies Type 2 Incident Management Team would be at the top of the list to obtain the firefighting resources they need. As of Thursday evening the resources assigned included 13 hand crews, 12 fire engines, and 4 helicopters for a total of 443 personnel.
Map of the Sunrise Fire. The red line was the perimeter at 10:30 p.m. MDT July 27, 2017. The white line was the perimeter about 48 hours earlier. Click to enlarge.
Not a great deal of information is available about the fire, but as of mid-day on Thursday an evacuation was in effect for Quartz Flats, and the Quartz Flats Campgrounds off Interstate 90 Eastbound and Westbound are either closed or under evacuation orders.
Friday’s weather forecast for the fire area calls for 87 degrees, 21 percent relative humidity, and northwest winds of 5 to 7 mph. About the same conditions are predicted for Saturday.
All articles about the Sunrise Fire can be found HERE, with the most recent at the top of the page.
The communities of Quartz Flats and Sunrise northwest of Missoula are affected by the order, according to the Mineral County Sheriff’s office.
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.
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.
Above: The Lodgepole Complex of fires. Uncredited photo posted to Inciweb July 23, 2017.
(Originally published at 9:20 a.m. MDT July 26, 2017)
Firefighters continue to make progress on the Lodgepole Complex of fires in Eastern Montana south of Lake Fort Peck. More accurate mapping shows that the fire has burned a total of 270,000 acres on the four fires, Bridge Coulee, Barker, South Breaks, and Square Butte.
Early Wednesday morning the only large concentrations of intense heat detected by an aircraft were on the north side adjacent to Lake Fort Peck, but a lot of the fire perimeter still does not have completed fireline.
Map of the Lodgepole Complex of fires. The red line was the perimeter at 2:30 a.m. MDT July 26, 2017. The white line was the estimated perimeter two days before.
Firefighters have been conducting burnout operations to secure the lines and in some locations have increased the depth along the containment lines by one quarter mile.
The weather on Wednesday is predicted to be warmer and drier with gusty winds out of the south.
(All articles on Wildfire Today about the Lodgepole Fire in Montana are tagged, and can be found at https://wildfiretoday.com/tag/lodgepole-complex/, with the most recent articles at the top.)
Above: Wildfires in Western Montana, July 25, 2017.
(Originally published at 10:30 a.m. MDT July 25, 2017)
Residents of Missoula, Montana are used to the impacts wildfire season brings to the area. Occasionally the area is inundated with smoke for days or weeks at a time. Today at least a dozen large wildfires are burning within 70 miles of Missoula. Most of them are south or east of the city so the northwest wind predicted today will blow much of the smoke from the fires away from town.
Photo from a camera at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, showing some smoky haze in the air at 8:45 a.m. PDT July 25, 2017.
The national Incident Management Situation Report groups fires by Geographic Area and lists those Areas by priority, and within each Area the fires are listed by priority. The Northern Rockies Geographic Area, identified as the highest priority today, is comprised of Northern Idaho, all of Montana, most of North Dakota, and relatively small portions of Wyoming and South Dakota.
The 12 highest priority fires in the Northern Rockies Geographic Area, July 25, 2017. “Ctn” means it is a full suppression fire. “Comp” is less than full suppression.
Today’s report lists 21 large fires in the Northern Rockies with 18 of them being in Montana. The first 10 priorities are in Montana and 8 of them are in the western part of the state.
The two that are in the eastern part are the top two priorities in the Area:
Lodgepole Complex of Fires: 250,000 acres, 16 homes have been destroyed. Firefighters are making good progress. Over the last 48 hours the only large growth has been on the northern end near Lake Fort Peck. More information.
Buffalo Fire: This is a new fire reported July 24. At last report it had burned 2,000 acres and is near the Wyoming/Montana state line. An Incident Management Team from Alaska that was staged in the state has been assigned.
Fires in Eastern Montana, July 25, 2017.The north portion of the Lodgepole Complex of fires. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:52 a.m. PDT July 25, 2017. The red line was the fire perimeter at 9 p.m. MDT July 23, 2017.
Below is some information about a couple of fires closer to Missoula:
Lolo Peak Fire; 1,090 acres 17 miles southwest of Missoula and 10 miles southwest of Lolo. It was active Monday and Monday night on the north, west, and south sides, spotting across a drainage and advancing to Lantern Ridge.
Sapphire Complex comprised of Sliderock, Little Hogback, and Goat Creek fires: 20 to 31 miles southeast of Missoula. All three fires were active Monday, primarily on the east and southeast sides. Combined they have burned 4,539 acres.
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.
