The Pole and Fine Fires are burning a mile apart in southwest Montana 18 miles southwest of Ennis and 47 miles northwest of West Yellowstone. The lightning-caused fires were discovered June 30 in stands of standing dead and down timber.
Firefighters are engaging the fires as they move out of the timber stands into meadows in order to minimize exposure to numerous snags. Actions to secure the whitebark pine stand adjacent to the Pole Fire continue. Structure and private property assessments are on-going on the Fine fire.
The heat-sensing satellites, capable of detecting large concentrations of heat from vegetation fires, has not found any since July 1 at 4:30 a.m.