(UPDATE at 8:40 a.m. MDT, July 20, 2013)
The West Mullan fire was active on the east and west sides Friday. See below for more details.
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(UPDATE at 8:55 p.m. MDT, July 19, 2013)
The Incident Management Team announced this afternoon that effective immediately, the mandatory evacuation order and road closure in and around Superior, MT are being changed. West Mullan Road is open to the public east of Sunflower Lane. West of Sunflower Lane it is open to residents only. Flat Creek Road within the city limits is open. East Mullan Road is open to everyone. Flat Creek Road outside the city limit remains closed and under mandatory evacuation. Pardee Creek, Keystone Creek, and LaVista Roads remain closed and under mandatory evacuation. Big Eddy Fishing Access is closed.
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(UPDATE at 10:41 a.m. MDT, July 19, 2013)
The latest size estimate of the West Mullan Fire is 4,550 acres with 23 percent containment. They provided this update Thursday night:
Firefighters were able to make significant progress today limiting further expansion of the fire. Crews cleaned-up the fire’s edge on the southeast flank and expanded the line on the western perimeter. The fire was allowed to burn down toward Flat Creek Road and Superior where preparations were in place to stop further spread. Engines and hoses were present around buildings to provide structure protection.
Dozer and hand line was constructed on the western edge coming upslope from the Dry Creek area. Crews worked along Keystone Road in preparation for advance of the fire downslope from the ridge. Progress on the northern edge was limited because of firefighter safety concerns.
A road block is in place on the bridge in Superior crossing the Clark Fork River restricting access to the north. Pardee Road, East Pardee Road, West Mullan Road, Flat Creek Road, East Mullan Road to Big Eddy Fishing Access site, LaVista Road, and Keystone Road are under mandatory evacuation. An emergency center has been established at the Superior Elementary School by the Red Cross.
On Friday firefighters will continue to protect structures, and will remove hazardous trees and vegetation along Keystone Creek Road to prepare for a possible burnout operation. Crews will also be working along the ridge between Keystone and Pardee Creeks constructing fireline. Dozers and hand crews will work along the northwest section of the fire constructing line. Crews will finish preparing line for any required burnout operations in Wood Gulch.
A larger version of the map below can be found on InciWeb.
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(UPDATE at 3:32 p.m. MDT, July 18, 2013)
The video below has some interesting imagery shot on the West Mullan Fire on July 16.
Continue reading “Montana: West Mullan Fire”
