Fire managers have decided to allow the Gabe Creek Fire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness near Seeley Lake to burn for resource benefits, and KECI-TV reports that the Gordon Creek Trail #35 was re-opened after a temporary closure. Fire personnel were stopping people on the trail last week.
According to KPAX-TV, the fire was caused by lightning. It’s about 19 miles northeast of Seeley Lake, the Montana resort area that was repeatedly evacuated during the Jocko Lakes Fire two years ago. Arguments flared for months thereafter about the perceived lack of aggressive initial attack on that fire. Burning in fuels that had not seen fire since the 1920s, the Jocko Lakes Fire burned over 36,000 acres — and the memory of it is still fresh in the minds of locals. For details on the Gabe Creek Fire’s progress, call the Spotted Bear Ranger District at (406)758-5376.
