(Originally published at 12:53 p.m. MDT July 25, 2017)
(Updated at 4:52 p.m. MDT July 25, 2017)
There was a fatality at a fire in Fairburn, South Dakota Monday morning when a civilian died near one of two burned structures. Jim Strain, Assistant Chief of the Fairburn Volunteer Fire Department who was Incident Commander on the fire, said one of the structures, a single-family residence, was occupied and the other, a two-story house, was vacant.
No other information was available about the fatality as of 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday.
After the fire started around 10 a.m. calls were received in several fire departments in the area saying multiple structures were burning in Fairburn and it was spotting into the grass — send everything you can.
At around 11:30 a.m. firefighters had the one acre of vegetation and the structure fires knocked down with the help of a single engine air tanker. Since there is no high-volume water source in the small town so water tenders were driving miles to refill.
Chief Strain said there was a great interagency effort from three counties, state, and federal agencies.
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.
Above: Wildfire smoke, at 7:22 a.m. MDT July 25, 2017.
(Originally published at 7:45 a.m. MDT July 25, 2017)
Smoke from wildfires is affecting most of Canada, the Great Lakes area, and the central and north-central United States.
The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches on Tuesday for areas in Montana, California, Oregon and Nebraska.
The map was current as of 7:40 a.m. MDT on Tuesday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
Above: A South Dakota National Guard Blackhawk helicopter makes a water drop on the Chilson Fire, July 24, 2017.
(Originally published at 4:50 p.m. MDT July 24, 2017)
The Chilson Fire has burned approximately 40 acres in the Black Hills of South Dakota, halfway between Edgemont and Hot Springs south of Highway 18 and one mile southeast of Old Highway 18.
At 3 p.m. on Monday firefighters appeared to have the spread stopped, thanks to efforts by 4 engines, 3 hand crews, 3 helicopters (1 contracted Type 3 and 2 National Guard Blackhawks), and 1 single engine air tanker.
Chilson Fire, between Edgemont and Hot Springs, SD. Click to enlarge.
Since the Northern Great Plains received 28,000 cloud to ground lightning strikes on July 21 and 22, firefighters in the Black Hills have responded to around 20 fires. Most were suppressed at less than an acre, but four others burned 8, 10, and 36 acres; and this one, the Chilson Fire, that is estimated at 40 acres.
A South Dakota National Guard Blackhawk helicopter drops water on the Chilson Fire, July 24, 2017. Click to enlarge.A South Dakota National Guard Blackhawk helicopter works on the Chilson Fire. Click to enlarge.
The National Weather Service issued Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches on Monday for areas in Montana, California, Oregon and Idaho.
The map was current as of 10:45 a.m. MDT on Monday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
Above: Satellite photo of the Lodgepole Complex of fires, July 23, 2017. The red dots represent heat detected by the satellite.
(Updated at 11:50 p.m. MDT July 24, 2017)
The Lodgepole Complex of fires in eastern Montana was active Monday on the north and east sides. The incident management team (IMT) reported Monday at 6 p.m. MDT that the estimated size is a quarter of a million acres — 250,000 acres.
There are 611 personnel assigned to the fire.
The IMT also reported that 16 homes have been destroyed as well as a significant amount of fencing and hay.
The 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.
Monday night there is a chance of dry thunderstorms — lightning with little to no rain but with plenty of wind. Tuesday should be cooler with northeast winds at 10 mph.
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(Originally published at 10:23 a.m. MDT July 24, 2017)
(Updated at 1:20 p.m. MDT July 24, 2017)
A wildfire in eastern Montana grew to over 220,000 acres Sunday in a remote area miles from communities people from out of the state have ever heard of. The group of four fires are referred to as the Lodgepole Complex of fires and cover an area 40 miles by 20 miles. The incident management team Monday morning is calling the four fires 226,000 acres, a classification that we call “megafires” (that exceed 100,000 acres). The nearest community in the area that we could find on a map was Mosby on Highway 200, about three miles west of the fire. Mosby’s post office closed in 2015. The County Seat, Jordon, with a population of 343 in 2010, is about 30 air miles to the east.
(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.)
Lodgepole Fire. Posted on Inciweb July 23, 2017. Undated and uncredited.
The map of the Lodgepole Complex below shows the perimeter as mapped by an aircraft at 9 p.m. MDT July 23. Later that night the fire continued to spread north along the shore of Lake Fort Peck up to the main body of the lake where it makes a 180-degree turn. Our very unofficial estimate puts the size at close to a quarter of a million acres.
The north end of the fire has burned into the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge near Lake Fort Peck.
Map of the Lodgepole Complex fires at 9 p.m. MDT July 23, 2017. Click to enlarge.
On Sunday evening Montana Governor Steve Bullock signed an Executive Order “declaring a fire emergency to exist in the state”. The Governor said the order will provide additional firefighting resources.
On Sunday firefighters were able to stop the spread on the south end of the fire and continued to patrol the area which had little fire activity south of Highway 200. Other efforts on Sunday were on the northern portions of the fires protecting property and grazing areas after a wind shift from the south. Both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters have been heavily used on the fires.
Evacuation orders are in effect for portions of Garfield and Petroleum Counties.
The four fires began on July 19, 2017 after a lightning storm.
The National Situation Report said resources on the fire Sunday evening included 4 hand crews, 12 engines, and 3 helicopters for a total of 215 personnel. Monday morning the incident management team reported the number of personnel had increased to 300. These would be very low numbers for a fire much smaller than the Lodgepole Complex of fires.
The weather forecast for Mosby, MT on Monday features another Red Flag Warning with temperatures in the mid 80s to mid 90s and humidity levels around 20 percent with 10 to 20 mph north winds gusting at 22 to 28.
This wind out of the north may again, as in recent days, push smoke into neighboring states.
Forecast for the distribution of wildfire smoke at 5 p.m. MDT July 24, 2017. NOAA.
The fire is being managed by the Western Montana Type 2 Interagency Incident Management Team, Rick Connell Incident Commander.
A DC-10 drops on the Lodgepole Fire. Posted on Inciweb July 23, 2017. Undated and uncredited.
