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Smoke rises from valleys behind a burned-over portion of the Fridley Creek area, Friday morning, Aug. 24, 2001, west of Emigrant, Mont. Additional firefighting crews continued to arrive Friday to help control Montana's biggest forest fire, which new mapping revealed to be twice as large as officials thought: 23,000 acres.

More firefighters, better weather arriving to help                       August 25, 2001

EMIGRANT — Additional crews were arriving Friday to help control Montana’s biggest forest fire, which has burned 23,000 acres north of Yellowstone National Park.  Fire managers hoped the bigger force and cooler weather will slow its spread after two days of rapid expansion from 5,000 acres on Thursday. Much of the growth, however, was attributed to more precise mapping Thursday night.

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A firefighter with a crew from Santa Domingo, N.M., works to put out a hot spot Sunday morning on the Fridley fire near Paradise valley south of Livingston. The fire grew by 1,000 acres overnight Saturday.

Fires threaten Yellowstone Park                                    August 27, 2002

Two new wildfires to the north and south of Yellowstone National Park were threatening to burn their way into the park Sunday.

One, the 150-acre Little Joe fire, was about 10 miles north-northwest of the north entrance and a mile north of the park boundary.  Eleven aircraft, both slurry bombers and helicopters, and a crew of smokejumpers were being dispatched to the scene, according to Yellowstone spokeswoman Marsha Karle.

The flames were threatening a cabin.  Meanwhile, information was scant about a new fire about a mile south of the park between Grassy Lake Reservoir and Lake of the Woods, in Targhee National Forest.  Karle said lightning most likely started the Targhee fire, but the cause of the Little Joe Fire was under investigation.

Additional fire restrictions will begin today at noon in the park. No wood or charcoal fires will be allowed at campgrounds. Backcountry fires have already been restricted, as has traveled in certain areas, park officials said.

  A wildfire flares up early Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2001, along western boundary of Glacier National Park near Polebridge, Mont. Glacier National Park officials closed four campgrounds Tuesday and banned trips into the backcountry as firefighters battled the 4,700-acre blaze that burned just west of the park and forced the evacuation of a dozen homes.

Fire near Glacier Park expands              August 29, 2001

Glacier National Park officials closed the westernmost section of the park Tuesday as a 14,000-acre wildfire burned toward Glacier’s western edge.  Earlier in the day, Glacier officials closed four campgrounds and banned backcountry trips in the North Fork area of the park.

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Bands of smoke from the 17,000 acre Moose Fire filter light from the rising sun in Kalispell, Mont., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2001. The Moose Fire is burning about 30 miles north of Kalispell. People evacuated Monday from about a dozen homes in a sparsely populated area some 3 miles northeast of the Moose Fire remained out of their houses Thursday.

Fire crews make few gains near Glacier; high winds forecast                   August 31, 2001

Crews battling a 17,000-acre wildfire west of Glacier National Park braced Thursday for more unfavorable weather and guardedly sized up their progress against the blaze, now more than two weeks old.   “We’ve got a few scratch lines around the tiger, but the tiger’s still a tiger,” said Bob McKinney, information officer for the Moose fire. With forecasts calling for strong winds later Thursday and continued heat and dryness Friday, there was no shortage of conditions to support the fire, said Vickie Guthrie, a spokeswoman. 

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Montana fire helicopter crashes near Livingston, killing three    August 31, 2001

WEST GLACIER, Mont. – A helicopter assigned to the largest wildfire in Montana crashed Friday, killing all three people aboard.

The deaths were confirmed by Capt. Doug Lobaugh of the Livingston Fire Department.  Columbia Helicopters Inc., a leasing company in Portland, Ore., confirmed one of its helicopters crashed in Montana. Vice President Jon Lazzaretti said the company was trying to contact families of the crew.  The large, twin-engine helicopter was capable of carrying about 1,100 gallons of water for fire work, Lazaretti said. The helicopter was on a routine flight, said Warren Bielenberg, spokesman for the Fridley fire. 

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Three men died in the crash of a fire fighting helicopter in Paradise Valley south of Livingston Friday morning. Burned trees surround the wreckage along Sixmile Creek. Below, what appears to be a piece of rotor blade lies a half-mile from the crash site.

Fire helicopter crashes: 3 dead                             September 01, 2001

LIVINGSTON — Investigators are still uncertain why a helicopter crashed near Emigrant Friday killing all three men on board.

The helicopter was part of a contracted fleet fighting the Fridley fire, but apparently was on a routine maintenance mission and not battling the wildfire, when it went down at about 9 a.m., Park County Sheriff Clark Carpenter said. It crashed about three miles south of Emigrant at the base of Emigrant Peak, he said.  The Associated Press reported the three killed were pilot Rich Hernandez, 37, who was from Florida but had been living in the Lake Tahoe area on the Nevada-California border; co-pilot Santi Arovitx, 28, originally from Spain and living in Hillsboro, Ore.; and crew chief Kip Krigbaum, 45, of Emmett, Idaho.

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The Moose Fire continues to burn west of Glacier National Park and north of Columbia Falls, Mont., Saturday, Sept. 1, 2001. The wind-driven wildfire exploded overnight and more than doubled in size. The fire expanded on all sides, wiping out containment lines that firefighters had established in the previous week as it grew from 19,000 acres on Friday to 40,300 acres by Saturday morning, an official said.

Glacier fire size doubles                  Sept. 1, 2001

WEST GLACIER — Montana’s biggest wildfire rode strong winds deeper into Glacier National Park Saturday, possibly threatening homes and cabins along Lake McDonald after it more than doubled its size in one day.  It may be unstoppable, the fire boss said.  The Moose fire grew from 19,000 acres Friday to 46,000 acres by Saturday, including 6,000 acres inside the west edge of the park, information officer Wayne Johnson said.

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Strong winds stymie attack on burgeoning Moose fire in Glacier         09/04/2001
WEST GLACIER – Fire commanders grounded their air attack and pulled all firefighters off the lines of a blaze burning in Glacier National Park Monday as strong winds threatened to send it racing.  About a dozen people in a small, wooded development west of the park were evacuated as a precaution when winds pushed flames toward the homes, barns and a small store.

Fire commanders grounded their air attack and pulled all firefighters off the lines of a blaze burning in Glacier National Park Monday as strong winds threatened to send it racing.  About a dozen people in a small, wooded development west of the park were evacuated as a precaution when winds pushed flames toward the homes, barns and a small store.

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Firefighter killed by fallen snag while fighting fire in Bitterroot                  9/04/2001
HAMILTON – A Bitterroot National Forest firefighter was fatally injured Monday morning after being struck by a fallen snag while battling a small fire near the Lost Trail Pass ski area.  “This is a terrible tragedy,” said Spike Thompson, deputy forest supervisor. “The safety of our firefighters is always our first priority.”

Forest officials say the Labor fire had burned 3 to 5 acres near the Idaho border. The fire started Sunday night and crews began working Monday morning. Its cause is unknown.  The firefighters on duty at the time of the accident were replaced with another crew. The Forest Service and Ravalli County sheriff’s department are investigating the accident.  The victim’s name is being withheld until family members can be notified.

Charred trees smolder on Tuesday after the Moose Fire passed through on the border of Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park in Montana.

Firefighters return to Glacier fire                                    09/05/2001
WEST GLACIER – Firefighters who were forced to the sidelines by dangerous winds returned Tuesday to battle the Moose fire in Glacier National Park, hoping to make up for ground lost a day earlier.  “It’s a good day to fight fires,” Wayne Johnson, a fire information officer, said Tuesday as more than 1,000 firefighters were ordered to resume their efforts to corral the fire that had grown to 58,500 acres. “After what we’ve been dealing with, Mother Nature seems to be giving us a break today.”

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Glacier fire slows after rain                                                                                 09/07/2001
WEST GLACIER (AP) — Nearly two days of cool, wet weather gave way to rising winds and falling humidity late Thursday, ending the brief lull firefighters enjoyed in their battle to corral a 65,500-acre fire in northwestern Montana.

Fire managers warned the Moose fire remained dangerous, although rain Wednesday and thick fog and humidity Thursday morning brought it almost to a standstill. The fire gained about 1,500 acres overnight.  It has burned 15,000 acres in the west side of Glacier National Park.

Fire crews resume work after pause                                 09/13/2001
COLUMBIA FALLS (AP) – Both the air and ground attacks against the Big wildfire in northwestern Montana and Glacier National Park resumed Wednesday after a daylong pause Tuesday because of the terrorist attacks on the East Coast.  The firefighters’ helicopters were grounded Tuesday like all other nonmilitary aircraft in the country, and ground crews were too distracted to work safely.

The helicopters, a major element in the nearly monthlong fight, began lifting off again early Wednesday, said Vikki Hughes, flight operations chief for the firefighting team.  “All we have to do is contact ATC (air traffic control),” she said. “The pilots do that and file a VFR (visual flight rules) flight plan.”

The flights are restricted to the air space around the big fire, she said.  Tuesday was a day of frustration on the ground as well as in the air.  “We have six choppers ready to go, but they’re just sitting here,” fire information officer Tom Danton said early Tuesday. “We can’t even fly them the 15 miles from fire headquarters to the hotspots. Today, we have to do it with ground crews.”

But by noon even the ground crews were grounded.  “They were just too distracted by everything that’s happening to keep their attention on the fire line,” Danton said. “And in this business, you’re not safe if you’ re not paying attention, and safety’s the first requirement for us.”

So instead of working the fire lines, firefighters hovered around a handful of big-screen televisions brought in to share the news.  Meanwhile, hot spots and flare-ups continued to churn up smoke from deep inside the 66,800-acre blaze. It has burned about 25,000 acres inside Glacier National Park.