Montana's National Disaster page 5 continued

More than 450 firefighters battle fire

In the Seeley Lake area, the Lower Fawn Creek fire doubled in size to 120 acres Sunday afternoon, forcing five families to evacuate. The fire began with a lightning strike, and was discovered Friday, officials said. The blaze is about five miles to the northwest of Seeley Lake near Marshall Lake, and was about a mile and a half away from seven homes Sunday evening. Two families chose to stay in their homes while crews worked to contain the fire, officials said.

Above Seeley Lake, three small blazes near the Jocko lakes on the Flathead Indian Reservation were snuffed, officials said. On the Lolo National Forest, the West Alder fires near Rock Creek combine for about 40 acres altogether, officials said. An eight-member crew, three smokejumpers, two helicopters and three air tankers were fighting the blazes.

Wind-blown embers started several small fires outside the original five-mile perimeter of the Black Stallion fire, east of Corvallis. The fire was 10 acres in size Sunday, including the original and spawned fires. A total of 35 firefighters were working the blaze, and fire officials expected the fire to be contained by Monday. The Livingston Ranger District sent firefighters and equipment to attack a 70-acre fire on the west side of Paradise Valley in the Gallatin Range. The Fridley Creek fire is very active, said fire information officer Jodie Canfield.

“We can’t get (smoke) jumpers in there because there’s too much smoke,” Canfield said, working out of the Livingston Ranger District office. Extremely low humidity, high temperatures and winds were fueling the blaze, she said. The Monument Fire in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness grew from two acres on Friday to about 200 acres Sunday evening, Canfield said. For almost two weeks the fire was smoldering in logs, but observers said on Sunday afternoon it was burning aggressively to the northeast, she said.

“Our main concern is keeping it out of the main Boulder canyon,” she said. “We have ordered a retardant drop for (Monday) morning. It’s a holding action, not suppression.” The Monument fire is 20 miles from the Monitor Creek fire, also in the wilderness, was 90 percent contained by Sunday evening. Two Hotshot teams were expected to continue work Monday, and by then the fire should be fully contained, officials said.

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Fire near Emigrant growing
The fire, in the Fridley Creek drainage 7 miles west of Emigrant and 20 miles southwest of Livingston, is burning in dense forest in a steep area made up of private and national forest land. The site is inaccessible from the ground. The lightning-caused blaze was exhibiting “extreme fire behavior” with gusty winds pushing the fire to the northeast, the Gallatin National Forest said in a press release.

A logging operation north of the fire was halted and loggers were evacuated by the Park County sheriff’s office, fire information officer MaryAnn Hoibakk said. The fire had burned 90 acres by 11 a.m., but two hours later spread to more than 500 acres, Hoibakk said. “That’s when the decision was made to pull the smokejumpers out of there,” she said. “This afternoon it’s been completely an air show,” with air tankers dropping retardant loads. The Park County sheriff’s office issued an evacuation warning to area residents. A fire management team was called in and is expected to arrive Tuesday.

Several fires started Sunday and Monday in the Snowy Mountains in central Montana. The largest of the fires, a 25-acre blaze near Moore, was ignited by a passing logging truck Monday afternoon, said Jody Weil, Bureau of Land Management fire information officer. Some structures are in the path of the fire burning along Beaver Creek, Weil said.

A helicopter and an engine crew were on the fire and fire retardant planes from Billings, West Yellowstone and Lewistown were dropping retardant on the fire, Weil said. The fire is burning between the Little Snowy and the Big Snowy mountains on public land.

Six or seven other small fires started during a lightning storm in the Little Snowy Mountains Sunday night. Weil said she did not know the number of firefighters working in the area, but that the BLM was committed to making a strong attack on the fires while they’re small. A 15-acre fire west of Mystic Lake closed two mountain trails.

The Little Park Mountain fire was burning Monday about five miles west of Mystic Lake and a mile west of Silver Lake on the West Rosebud drainage. Eleven firefighters were making the initial attack on the blaze Sunday and continued to battle the fire on Monday. The fire likely started during a lightning storm Sunday, according to Babete Anderson, information assistant for the Beartooth Ranger District of Custer National Forest. “They’ve had some helicopters help with transporting supplies and people," Anderson said. “Mainly, they’re getting a hand line around the fire. It sounds like it’s not growing now." Because of the fire, two trails, including the Mystic Lake Trail, and the Phantom Lake Trail are closed. Open campfires were already banned in the area, which Anderson said is in the first stage of fire restrictions. Campers in established campgrounds may burn fires in grates and backpackers may use propane stoves, Anderson said.

Meantime, a more favorable weather forecast gave firefighters hope of making progress on blazes near Whitefish and crews planned to work on building a line around a lightning-caused fire estimated at 120 acres about five miles northwest of Seeley Lake, in Western Montana. Residents of five of the seven homes in that area had evacuated voluntarily, incident commander Chris Hoff said. The houses are a mile to a mile and a half east of the fire, he said. “The fire is mainly just spotting and making some small runs, but we’re not having any really fast-moving, major crown runs,” he said, but noted that warmer, drier weather could spur fire activity later in the day.

Lighter winds and cooler temperatures were expected to help crews battling the Werner Peak and Moose fires, north of Whitefish and estimated at about 1,100 acres, fire information officer Pat Cross said. Crews continued working on line despite the sometimes extreme fire behavior Sunday, Cross said. More than 450 firefighters were being helped by helicopters and other equipment, he said. “For what we’re dealing with, we’re real satisfied with the progress we’ve made,” he said, noting the steep terrain.

Mop-up continued on the Monitor Creek fire, which officials hoped to contain by Wednesday.

The Monument fire, estimated at 1,000 acres in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, is being managed for resource benefits, Schlenker said. There is a plan in place to allow fire to play a natural role in the area, and a Hotshot crew and helicopter have provided support, she said. The area affected by the fire, including some trails, has been closed to the public, officials said.

The Meadow Creek fire, in the Scapegoat Wilderness, was about 30 percent contained Monday and estimated at about 100 acres, fire fuel specialist Sean Johnson said. It’s located in grizzly bear habitat, he said.

On the Lolo National Forest, the West Alder Creek fires near Rock Creek combined for about 40 acres. A Hotshot team was added to the firefighting effort, which was previously waged mainly with water and retardant drops, said Joni Bras, of the Missoula Dispatch Center.

The 10-acre Black Stallion fire, east of Corvallis, was contained Monday. Fire officials released some firefighters, said Tony Lubke, a dispatcher with the Bitterroot National Forest.

Above Seeley Lake, three small blazes near the Jocko lakes on the Flathead Indian Reservation were snuffed, officials said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Judy Martz has signed an executive order proclaiming a state of emergency for parts western and southwestern Montana due to fire conditions. Signing the order gives Martz the authority to mobilize state resources and the Montana National Guard, and gives her the authority to spend money from the general fund. The order, signed last week, covers 19 counties.

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More Firefighters, better weather arriving to help
“We expect to make significant progress,” fire information officer Annie Card said. The fire is in the Paradise Valley north of Yellowstone National Park and west of the town of Emigrant. Lightning started it Sunday in the Fridley Creek drainage. Some 40 houses were scattered around the fire’s north end, but fire officials said they were not in immediate danger. No evacuations have been ordered. Eight more 20-member firefighting crews were in the staging area Friday and more were arriving, Card said. She said fire managers hope to build their force of 300 to at least 800 firefighters.

Officials closed about 100,000 acres of the Gallatin National Forest to all but firefighters and some fire restrictions were set to take effect today on public lands in the forest.

Meanwhile, firefighters battled other blazes across Montana and Wyoming:

Air tankers attacked the North Sawmill Fire northwest of Jordan Friday, keeping the fire at 900 to 1,000 acres.

About 100 people are working on the fire which was started by lightning Thursday afternoon. Within about four hours the fire grew to 150 acres and it blew up to an estimated 500 to 1,000 acres by midnight, said Phil Gill, a BLM fire management officer in Miles City.

Air tankers dropped retardant on the fire Friday but it was still actively burning on two sides, Gill said. Crews also started to dig lines around the fire, but Gill did not know how much line was cut. Wind pushed the fire, which is burning pine trees and grass in rugged, steep country in the Missouri Breaks.

Six crews have been ordered to join the two crews on the fire, said Don Barry, an information officer at the Billings Dispatch Center. A type 2 overhead team was expected to arrive in Miles City Friday evening and take over management of the fire Saturday morning, Gill said.
Crews continue to work on the Monument fire burning in the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness. Firefighters and a helicopter Friday mopped up the western and northern flanks of the 1,200-acre fire. Those edges of the fire were attacked this week to keep the fire in the Slough Creek drainage and out of the Boulder River drainage, said Kimberly Schlenker, a fire information officer with the Forest Service. The lightning-sparked fire will not be fought as long as it stays within the wilderness area.

Upper Slough Creek and Boulder Divide, south of the Lake Plateau, have been closed since Aug. 22. A map of the closures is available on the Gallatin National Forest Web site a www.fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin.
Three fires in Yellowstone National Park gained little ground despite being unfought, but one that broke out near Guernsey on Friday required a squad of prisoner firefighters.

The Falcon fire on the southern boundary of the park still covered 1,700 acres, according to park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews.

In the Pelican Valley northeast of Fishing Bridge, the Stone fire grew from 45 acres Thursday to 70 acres Friday. Another fire that was monitored but allowed to grow was the six-acre Sulfur fire near the Mud Volcano area.

The Arthur fire, which blackened 2,800 acres near the park’s east entrance, was still being fought by 16 firefighters and still has not been controlled. The fire closed the entrance for 11 days before it was contained on Aug. 11.

Meanwhile, firefighters contained the Sepulcher fire, which covered about two acres near Mammoth Hot Springs.
The Monitor fire, burning north of Gardiner, is contained and a hot shot crew is finishing mop-up on hot spots.
The Little Park fire, which burned about 20 acres in the West Rosebud drainage near Mystic Lake, was considered 80 percent contained Friday. The fire was reported Aug. 19 and is believed to have been started by a campfire. A helicopter dropped buckets of water Friday.
In northwestern Montana, workers continued to mop-up after the 860-acre Werner Peak fire. High winds spread the Moose fire to 2,685 acres, and it moved within five miles of a cabin and several other buildings in the Cyclone Park area, north of Whitefish. Firefighting crews wrapped the buildings in protective foil.
Flathead National Forest officials said they were monitoring several other fires that were being allowed to burn within the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
A squad of low-risk inmates was called to a 300- to 600-acre wildfire about seven miles northeast of Guernsey, Wyo., according to fire dispatcher Kim Falen. Lightning is believed to have started the Bohnstead Draw fire, which was burning in rugged terrain.
A 1,500-acre wildfire was burning through grass, sagebrush and ponderosa pine about 40 miles northeast of Casper.

The fire threatened a few hunting cabins Thursday but the structures were no longer at risk Friday. Sixteen or so firefighters expected to have the fire contained by 8 p.m. Friday.
A grass fire eight miles south of Cheyenne torched about 500 acres Friday and threatened some ranches before it was contained.

The Dinwoody fire in the Wind River Range had burned to within two miles of the Wind River Indian Reservation. At 25 days old, it is the longest burning out-of-control blaze in Wyoming. The fire, which began in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness of the Wind River Mountains, has grown to 1,400 acres. It was continuing to move east down Dinwoody Canyon and was about 15 miles west of Crowheart.

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Fire near Glacier Park expands to 14,000 acres
“There is no immediate threat within the park from the Moose fire,” said Denis Davis, assistant superintendent at Glacier. “We simply want to eliminate potential problems.” All roads and trails in the park’s North Fork area are closed and no backcountry permits will be issued in the Polebridge area of the park until further notice, Davis said.

Flathead County authorities, meanwhile, closed the North Fork Road, which runs along and outside the western boundary of the park. Firefighters tried to protect buildings along the road, which extends north to the Canadian border. Firefighters also moved their camp to a safer location near Columbia Falls, said Teresa Wenum, an information officer for the Flathead National Forest.

The fire made a big run Monday with extremely dry conditions, high temperatures, low relative humidity and gusty winds. “Those all came together to create a blowup situation,” Wenum said.

Winds diminished Tuesday and were calm for much of the day, but Jim Greene, head of the state Disaster and Emergency Services Division in Helena, said officials were concerned that winds from a weak cold front expected Tuesday night would send the Moose fire on another run.

Another, stronger front is predicted for Friday night. The larger a fire gets, the less crews and equipment are available to fight new blazes, Greene said. “It’s all weather driven,” he said. “If we continue to have this hot, dry weather followed by wind, we’re going to continue to have a fire problem and it could continue to escalate.” Greene’s agency reported Tuesday that 173 Montana National Guard troops and five helicopters were on Montana fire lines. Smoke from the fire has created a haze throughout the park in northwestern Montana.

“There are times of day when the smoke has been fairly thick ... and vistas have been shrouded or obstructed,” Vanderbilt said. In southern Montana, a blaze north of Yellowstone National Park had burned 25,715 acres as of midday Tuesday. Firefighters were bracing for a weather front with predictions of wind gusts to 35 mph and possibly some dry lightning in the area of the Fridley fire, 15 miles southwest of Livingston.

“If we make it through today, everybody can breathe a little easier for a while,” said Annie Card, a fire information officer. Nearly 1,000 people are involved in the firefighting effort, including members of the Montana National Guard. The fire, sparked by lightning, has been burning since Aug. 19.

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Fire crews make few gains near Glacier; high winds forecast
“There’s still the potential for extreme fire behavior like the run we saw Monday,” when the blaze nearly tripled to 14,000 acres, Guthrie said. The fire was 5 percent contained.

The Moose, which began Aug. 14, is one of four major wildfires in Montana. Together they have blackened about 44,000 acres, small compared to the nearly 650,000 acres burning in Montana at this time last summer, but still enough to punch a fire-weary state.

Although not the largest fire in Montana, the Moose near Glacier was the attention grabber. People who fled about a dozen houses Monday under an evacuation order were allowed to return home briefly Thursday, for belongings. “We’re not letting them hang out and wait for the fire to come,” Flathead County Undersheriff Chuck Curry said. The homes are in a sparsely populated area about three miles northeast of the fire.

The fire burned two miles from Glacier, Montana’s crown jewel. Several campgrounds and some backcountry trails remained closed as a precaution Thursday, but other park facilities and services went uninterrupted. The North Fork of the Flathead River flows between the fire and the park.

An 80-acre fire southwest of Forsyth was contained Thursday morning, a fire official said.

Rosebud County Fire Chief Doug Martin said some firefighters would spend Thursday night on the Corral Creek Fire but most of the county and Department of Natural Resources and Conservation crews were released. The fire was started Wednesday by lightning and burned grass and timber on private land, Martin said. It is about nine miles southwest of Forsyth near Highway 39. Firefighters also made strides on two fires burning on the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge. Both fires were started Wednesday by lightning.

The Wednesday Fire burned about 60 acres in grass and ponderosa pine about 30 miles north of Mosby. A helicopter from the Lewistown BLM dispatch center worked on the fire Thursday, said Dena Sprandel at the Miles City dispatch center. “It’s looking really good,” Sprandel said.

The nearby Gibbs Coulee Fire was controlled Thursday, said Larry Elder, manager of the Lewistown dispatch center.

A fire started Thursday afternoon on private land south of Grassrange in Fergus County. The fire was about two acres when firefighters started initial attack, said Don Barry at the Billings dispatch center. Barry said it was possible an air tanker from Billings would be requested to help slow the fire. Conditions at the Fridley, Little Joe and Monument fires were largely unchanged Thursday. The Fridley fire was at 25,500 acres and 25 percent contained. Attention to the 1,270-acre Monument fire mostly involves monitoring the blaze, because it is in a wilderness area.

At the 770-acre Little Joe, containment rose to 35 percent as crews prepared to finish digging lines up to the northern border of Yellowstone National Park. The fire has swept a quarter-mile into Yellowstone, but burned chiefly in the Gallatin National Forest, where bulldozers were part of the battle. In keeping with park policy, heavy equipment was not used in Yellowstone, but helicopter water drops continued and a highly trained Hotshot crew still labored there Thursday.

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Montana fire helicopter crashes near Livingston, killing three

It is one of four major wildfires in Montana, and its largest. However, the attention-getter has been the Moose fire west of Glacier National Park in the northwestern part of the state. Hundreds of miles separate the Fridley and Moose fires. “We’re just praying for rain,” said Bob McKinney, information officer for the Moose fire.

Meanwhile, a fire in Sanders County east of Paradise prompted officials to order a dozen households in the McLaughlin Creek drainage to evacuate but some residents refused, said Martha Smith, emergency services director in the county. She said the fire grew quickly to 20 acres but decreasing winds during the night kept the fire from spreading much more. Two air tankers and a helicopter dropped retardent and water on the fire, the cause of which wasn’t immediately known.

The Moose fire near Glacier, which was started by lightning Aug. 14, is just one of the major wildfires in Montana that together have blackened about 44,000 acres. That compares to nearly 650,000 acres burning in Montana at this time last summer. The Moose fire, considered 5 percent contained late Thursday, posed a potential threat to about a dozen homes plus other buildings, fire officials said. “We’ve got a few scratch lines around the tiger, but the tiger’s still a tiger,” McKinney said. A front, with the potential for gusty or shifting winds, was forecast to move through the area Friday, information officers said. “It has the potential to be huge,” McKinney said.

Residents displaced because of the fire were being allowed to their homes for belongings but not to stay indefinitely, county officials said. The homes are in a sparsely populated area. In nearby Columbia Falls, the American Red Cross operated a shelter for evacuees, but none used it.

“What we’ve found is that people in Montana tend to stay with families and friends, in RVs or at campgrounds, rather than at shelters,” said Marilyn Tate, working at the shelter. The fire burned two miles from Glacier, Montana’s crown jewel. Several campgrounds and some backcountry trails remained closed as a precaution Thursday, but other park facilities and services went uninterrupted. The North Fork of the Flathead River flows between the fire and the park.

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Fire helicopter crashes: 3 dead
The helicopter was owned by Columbia Helicopters, Inc., of Aurora, Ore. The crew had been fighting fires since April, said Michael Fahey, a Columbia spokesman.

Matt Glasgow, a spokesman for the National Forest Service, said the helicopter and crew were under contract with the Forest Service to fight the Fridley fire, but the crew was not on a contracted run when the crash occurred. Dave Schmitt, a fire information officer for the Fridley fire, said the helicopter had just undergone routine maintenance and was taking a short flight when the crash occurred.

The crash was not within the fire’s 25,500-acre perimeter, Schmitt said. Carpenter said the crash started another small fire that was extinguished by the Park County Rural Fire Department with help from a Forest Service helicopter that dumped a bucket of water on the site. He said the blaze consumed about an acre.

Carpenter said the crash site was in a ravine along Conlin Road, which was easily accessible from the road, he said, and was near a creek that runs through the ravine. Carpenter said all three were dead at the scene.

Park County deputies have secured the crash scene, Carpenter said. Glasgow said an investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board was en route and will determine the cause of the accident. The crash occurred about 6 miles south of the Fridley fire helibase. Annie Card, a fire information officer for the Fridley fire, said the fleet includes 15 helicopters.

Michele Severson, a personal banker with the American Bank of Montana branch in Livingston, said a fund has been set up for the families of the men who died. Donations to the Columbia Firefighters Memorial can be delivered to the bank at 120 N. 2nd St. in Livingston, or can be sent to the bank at Box 2290, Livingston MT, 59047-2290

Copter company described as safety-minded
By BECKY SHAY Of The Gazette Staff
And The Associated Press
The firefighting helicopter that crashed in the Gallatin National Forest Friday, killing all three crew members aboard, was owned by an Oregon corporation that operates in remote areas around the world and is known for having a good safety record.

Employees of Columbia Helicopters Inc. were hit hard by news of the crash. “Right now I’m pretty much numb,” said Jon Lazzaretti, a vice president of marketing with the company based in Aurora, Ore., about 25 miles south of Portland. The dead were identified as pilot Rich Hernandez, 37; co-pilot Santi Arovitx; and crew chief Kip Krigbaum, 45.

Lazzaretti, a former pilot himself, said he knew Hernandez and Krigbaum, and considered both as friends. He had worked with Hernandez. “He was a good friend and a good pilot,” Lazzaretti said.

The company, founded in 1957, specializes in remote work — dousing wildfires, hauling timber, and carrying oil-drilling rigs into South American jungles and other remote areas. Its Web site notes that it flew famine relief missions for the Agency for International Development in Sudan.

The company has expanded to include more than 30 aircraft and about 800 employees. Its helicopters can be seen every wildfire season in the West, hovering over the flames while emptying large buckets of water or dropping chemical retardant onto the flames.

Columbia Helicopters had been in the firefighting business for more than three decades. There are 15 other Columbia Helicopters working on fires in Montana, California and Washington, Lazzaretti said. The crew involved in Friday’s fatal accident was released from a fire near Riggins, Idaho, on Aug. 23 and transferred to the Fridley Fire on Aug. 24, he said.

Its current fleet consists of three models of helicopters for fighting wildfires. A Vertol 107-II, built in 1963, was the type that crashed. The wrecked helicopter was produced by Kawaskai; Columbia also owns the same style of helicopter built by Boeing.

Lazaretti described the Vertol 107-II is a versatile helicopter. The twin-rotor and twin-engine helicopters are used by the company in firefighting, logging, construction work and to move oil rigs overseas, he said. When used for firefighting, the Vertols may haul a bucket that is capable of carrying 11,000 gallons of water. The bucket is hooked to a sling under the helicopter.

Columbia Helicopters also works for the timber industry, using its choppers to move logs at the end of lines up to 350 feet long. Lazzaretti said following the deaths, all of the company’s helicopter crews were given the option of standing down on Friday. All the crews that were not working on active fires, and specifically those working logging operations, stood down “out of respect,” he said. The crash did not force Columbia Helicopters to ground any other machines, Lazzaretti said. Columbia Helicopter’s equipment is routinely inspected and maintained, he said.

A team including Columbia Helicopter’s head of maintenance, chief pilot and head of safety flew to Montana shortly after the wreck, Lazzaretti said. “(They are going) for the simple reason that they want to find out what was going on,” Lazzaretti said. Lazzaretti could not confirm the Gallatin National Forest’s announcement that the helicopter was on a “routine maintenance mission” when the accident occurred.

“We don’t have a confirmation from any of our people that’s what they were doing,” Lazzaretti said. “It’s bucket was on under the aircraft at the time of the accident. That would lead one to believe that maybe they were not on a maintenance flight, but we don’t know that.” Firefighting puts people in unnecessary danger, Lazzaretti said. The solution is for land managers to endorse programs to reduce the fuel load that fed the fires which have ravaged the West the past few years, he said.

“From a personal standpoint, it’s been a long fire season. The last couple of years have been pretty difficult seasons,” Lazzaretti said. “Any one with half a brain wouldn’t have to be doing this if the forests were managed properly. It’s really a shame.

“People say ‘They are making money,’ but it doesn’t pay for this. We just lost three very good people. It doesn’t have to be that way.” Rhett Flater, director of American Helicopter Society International, said the company has a reputation for safety. “It has a very solid reputation,” said Flater. “They are leaders and they actively promote safety.”

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Unstoppable natural disaster “This fire is going to get extremely large,” incident commander Larry Humphrey told about 200 area residents Friday night. “We could have the 5th Army in here, and they couldn’t stop it.”

Humphrey had 1,000 firefighters Saturday. Flames of the Moose fire advanced five to six miles under the lash of Friday’s 30 mph winds, and winds up to 40 mph were forecast for Saturday afternoon. The fire expanded on all sides, wiping out lines that firefighters had established in the previous week.

The leading edge of the fire Saturday morning was about 10 miles from the north end of Lake McDonald where most of the houses stand, and eight miles from Apgar Campground near the west entrance to the park. “This isn’t a fire you just run in and put out,” Humphrey said. ‘It’s going to take a long time.”

Under the right conditions it could approach the park’s headquarters at West Glacier, he said. None of the 20 or so guests at Lake McDonald Lodge were fleeing, but the National Park Service advised employees to have their belongings ready to leave, General Manager Mark McDevitt said. “It’s basically a waiting game,” he said. “It’s up to the wind at this point.”

Jack and Regine Hoag were calmly eating breakfast and reading the newspaper Saturday morning at their summer home a few steps from the north end of Lake McDonald. “We feel vulnerable, but we don’t feel panicked,” Regine Hoag said. They figured if they had to flee they would get enough notice to pack a few items. “This is a natural disaster. There’s not anything anyone can do to stop it,” Jack Hoag said.

Doug Miller, another homeowner on the west side of the lake, said he was planning to move his horses. “The main thing is just don’t panic. Fires have a life of their own,” he said.

About 350 miles to the south, the Fridley fire between Livingston and Yellowstone National Park stood at 26,000 acres. Firefighters held it to no gain overnight, but were reinforcing their lines Saturday against afternoon winds forecast to hit 20 mph. Fire information officer Dave Schmitt said fire managers expected the lines to hold the fire, which is 35 percent contained.

Winds were the threat as well at the 807-acre Little Joe fire, 10 miles northwest of Gardiner, near the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Incident Commander Glenn Joki said that if the lines held Saturday the fire could be contained — completely encircled by fire lines — on Monday.

Other fires in Montana were relatively calm. The Monument fire, about 1,600 acres, has been largely left to burn because it is in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

The Ear fire, about 15 miles southwest of East Glacier, had burned about 620 acres and was 50 percent contained.

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Strong winds stymie attack on burgeoning Moose fire in Glacier
Fire information officer Bob McKinney said the winds, which hit gusts of up to 40 mph Monday, made fighting the Moose fire too dangerous for ground crews and pilots. “The winds are incredibly strong right now. It would be homicide trying to put a fire crew in front of that thing,” he said. More than 1,000 firefighters were battling the blaze, which had grown to “well over 50,000” acres, said incident commander Larry Humphrey.

Favorable weather over the weekend helped crews gain some ground on the blaze. Although still considered only 5 percent contained, officials said northeast winds pushed flames away from buildings and homes along Lake McDonald that had been in danger. “It looks bad and it’s going to get worse,” fire information officer Joe Hart said.

McKinney said fire bosses ordered the 10 to 12 residents living near the Home Ranch Store on the park’s western border to evacuate to the small town of Polebridge, about five miles north. The fire later burned to within 800 yards of the Home Ranch Store, said Flathead County Sheriff Jim Dupont.

“The fire came through there with a vengeance,” Dupont said, adding he wasn’t sure if all the buildings in the area were still standing. “The smoke is very thick in there.” The lightning-sparked blaze began Aug. 14 near Whitefish. It doubled in size Friday and spread across the western border of Glacier National Park. It pushed east toward Lake McDonald, home to a number of park lodges, campgrounds and private properties.

Firefighters spent much of the Labor Day weekend helping area homeowners clear brush and other debris from their property. Crews working around the north end of Lake McDonald also planned to set up water pumps, hoses and sprinklers to protect cabins along the lake. Jeff Whitney, a deputy incident commander, estimated about 80 buildings around the lake, many of them in densely wooded areas, remained threatened by the fire.

Despite the blaze, lodges and other attractions within the park were still bustling Monday. Mark McDevitt, general manager of the Lake McDonald Lodge, said the facility was booked solid. “It’s a great photo op,” he said of the fire. “And people are taking advantage of it.” Elsewhere in the state, two fires reported Monday afternoon burned several hundred acres each in the Little Belt Mountains in central Montana. Air tankers were dropping retardant and a specialized management team was called in.

“The wind was really blowing today,” said Tim Benedict, the White Sulphur Springs District ranger for the Lewis and Clark National Forest. “It was extremely hot and dry. It was all the ingredients needed for a wildland fire.” The Monarch fire was about three miles from the town of Monarch, while the Lost Fork fire was southeast of the Showdown ski area. Firefighters were gaining the upper hand on two other fires north of Yellowstone National Park.

At one of the fires, between the park and the town of Livingston, crews used explosives to blast 1,500 feet of containment lines in the most rugged terrain. The 26,500-acre fire was considered 45 percent contained. South of Livingston, off-duty firefighters held a brief memorial service honoring three men who died Friday when their helicopter crashed north of Yellowstone National Park. Crews still expected to contain a fire near Yellowstone’s north entrance late Monday. It was estimated at 860 acres.

At least 18 major fires still active had burned about 150,000 acres in other Western states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. The center said crews were close to containing most of the largest fires.

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Firefighters return to lines at Glacier fire Fire bosses on Labor Day grounded their air attack on the blaze and ordered all crews off the firelines as heavy winds fanned flames and fears of a massive blowup. But those winds had calmed by Tuesday morning, and authorities decided to send crews back in. “Hopefully we’ll make some progress. Keep the faith,” Bob McKinney, a fire information officer, said Tuesday as plumes of heavy brown smoke rose from the park. Incident Commander Larry Humphrey said that while lower winds were a blessing, it would take much more help from nature to extinguish the blaze.

Crews have thrown “all the resources ... we could logically use” at the Glacier fire, he said, adding: “Rain or snow is what’s going to put this fire out.” Temperatures in the 60s with a 50 percent chance of a quarter- to a half-inch of rain are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, which could “certainly slow things down,” Humphrey said. He said forecasters are predicting “season-ending” precipitation early next week.

Humphrey said fire managers have decided to start sending some firefighters home because they don’t need as many people on the lines. It has cost $7 million to fight the fire so far. About a dozen people in a wooded area west of the park were evacuated to Polebridge, about five miles north, late Monday afternoon as a precaution when winds pushed flames closer to the homes, barns and a small store. So far, those have been the only evacuations, and park officials say the fire has not put a crimp in park visitations yet.

In fact, it may have attracted some tourists, said David Eaker, a park spokesman. While specific numbers weren’t available, Eaker said visits to the park over the Labor Day weekend were strong. “How much of that you can contribute to the fires is hard to say,” he said. “But I think it played quite a big role.” “People should view this as an opportunity to view a major natural event,” he said. Park Superintendent Suzanne Lewis said there were no immediate plans to close the popular Going-to-the-Sun Road through the park. Lodges and other attractions in the park also remained open.

The lightning-caused fire began Aug. 14 near Whitefish. It had stayed outside the park until Friday, when it doubled in size and made a run across the park’s western border. As of Tuesday, officials said about 14,000 acres within the 1 million-acre park had burned. Several dozen buildings, including private homes, park buildings, barns and outbuildings, remained threatened by the blaze, officials said, but the threat to houses on the northern edge of Lake McDonald has diminished.

Elsewhere in the state, two fires that began Monday afternoon in the Little Belt Mountains in central Montana had burned more than 2,300 acres by Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters had also gained on two other fires north of Yellowstone National Park in south-central Montana. One fire between the park and the town of Livingston was at more than 26,500 acres, but 55 percent contained Tuesday. The second fire was contained late Monday.

The 200-acre Spistols fire near Lame Deer was contained Tuesday but is still burning in some spots inside the fire line, according to the Northern Cheyenne Dispatcher Center. The fire started about 8:30 a.m. Monday in steep, timbered country about 10 miles south of Lame Deer, according to the dispatcher. Two heavy air tankers, three single-engine air tankers and a helicopter aided two Northern Cheyenne crews and one Blackfoot tribal crew Monday.

The hand crews remain on the fire to put out hot spots that continue to burn within the fire line. The fire was about 30 percent controlled Tuesday. The cause of the Spistols fire is undetermined and a fire investigator has been requested. An investigator is also looking into two small fires that started east of Lame Deer city limits on Tuesday. The two fires were near each other and covered about three acres, the dispatcher said. Local fire crews were able to quickly douse the fires, he said.

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