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Fact Sheet #12 for 8-20-03 at 8pm |
Incident
Information Contacts: |
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Contact: Flathead National Forest, Spotted Bear Ranger District, 406-758-5376 What: Lightning-caused wildland fires. Status: With light winds and dry conditions, fire spread increased Wednesday. Additional trail closures take effect Thursday. The Little Salmon Creek complex now includes 22 fires; eight of them are being managed as fire use fires for resource benefits: Little Salmon Creek, Pagoda Mountain, Lime Creek, Independence Peak, Salmon Point, Casey Creek, South Spud, Bartlett Mountain. Two are proposed for fire use, and the remainder are in suppression strategy. The remaining fires are less than 15 acres, except for Some Creek, Mid, and Leota fires. Three new fires were reported Wednesday from numerous lightning strikes overnight: High, Schafer, and East Crimson. Summary of Activity: Although Spotted Bear Ranger Station recorded two-tenths of an inch of precipitation overnight Tuesday, only a trace was received elsewhere. Fire activity increased Wednesday, preventing thorough mapping. The fires being managed for fire use continue to grow and to burn as expected for these events. Inaccessibility, steep terrain, and extremely dry fuels continue to be concerns. Location: The Little Salmon Creek Complex is located 47 miles southeast of Kalispell, Montana, in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. Current Size: Total: 22,744 acres. Little Salmon Creek: 20,891 ac.; Pagoda Mountain: 309 ac.; Lime Creek: 582 ac.; Independence Peak: 20 ac.; Salmon Point: 0.1 ac.; Casey Creek: 15 ac.; South Spud: .25 ac.; Bartlett Mountain: 2 ac. Wildland suppression fires: Some Creek: 314 ac.; Mid: 362 ac.; Leota: 180. Concerns: Firefighter and public safety, aviation, and the effects of smoke on surrounding communities. Resource Benefits: Preserving natural processes will be the key benefit of restoring fire to the wilderness. In addition, this fire will help to minimize future threats to firefighters and wilderness users by reducing fuel buildup. Future fire size and intensity will be reduced. Trail Closures: Effective Thursday, all trails in the South Fork of the Flathead River drainage from Mid Creek to the southern boundary of the Spotted Bear Ranger District will be closed. This is an extension of previous closures. Two additional trail closures on the Rocky Mountain Ranger District of the Lewis and Clark National Forest are expected to be added to the closure of Indian Creek #211: Ahorn Creek #209; and East Fork Ahorn #225. Due to the Snowbank-Talon Fire on the Helena National Forest, all Helena National Forest lands north of Montana Highway 200, including the portion of the Scapegoat Wilderness on the Helena National Forest, are closed. Trailheads including Pyramid Pass, Monture, North Fork Blackfoot, and Benchmark can still be used to access open areas. Jurisdiction: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service - Flathead National Forest, Spotted Bear Ranger District. Resources on Fire: Dick Rath’s interagency fire use team is managing the complex. District and other resource overhead and field people are making visitor contacts and implementing structure protection measures on administrative cabins. There are approximately 79 personnel directly related to this fire complex. Remarks: · 8/19 ~ Fire activity increased, with open flames observed. The Lime Creek Fire made a small slope run. The Little Salmon and Mid fires have been moderately active. Fire spread and aviation activity generally have been limited by humidity and smoke from the Crazy Horse Fire near Condon. The fires being managed for fire use continue to burn as expected for these events. Wildfire activity around the Bob Marshall Wilderness area continues to be a challenge as fires are hard to detect due to smoke. Fires are burning in steep and rugged terrain. · 8/18 ~ The Little Salmon and Mid fires have been moderately active. Fire spread and aviation activity have been limited by humidity and smoke from the Crazy Horse Fire near Condon. The fires being managed for fire use continue to burn as expected for these events. Wildfire activity around the Bob Marshall Wilderness area continues to be a challenge as fires are hard to detect due to smoke and are burning in steep and rugged terrain. · 8/16 ~ Little Salmon Creek Complex includes 19 fires. Seven are fire use fires: Little Salmon Creek, Pagoda Mountain, Lime Creek, Charlotte, Independence, Salmon Point, and Casey Creek. The wildland fires are 15 acres or less except for the Some Creek and Mid Fires. The fire use fires are being managed to accomplish resource benefits. The wildfires, which are lightning-caused ignitions, are being managed as suppression fires because of potential effects to recreation values and the other ongoing fire activity. · 8/15 ~ The Little Salmon Complex is currently comprised of 19 fires. Seven of them are fire use fires and are being managed for resource benefit. Fire activity today was moderately active but fire spread and aviation were both moderated somewhat by smoke from the adjacent Crazy Horse fire. Cabin protection and appropriate management responses were the primary activities. · 8/14 ~ Two new, very small fire use fires (1 acre or less) were detected today. Fire behavior was rather subdued today due to an inversion below 6000 feet. A new trail closure from Upper Holland Lake to the west side of the South Fork Trail south of Big Prairie is in effect today, due to the fire activity. Cabin protection measures and appropriate fire use management responses were the primary activities. · 8/12 ~ Infrared reconnaissance of the area occurred last night resulting in a more accurate acreage estimate. Smoke covered the fire for most of the day making for a quiet day on the fire. On the south end of the Little Salmon Creek fire, the fire burned southwest toward Charlotte Peak, and southeast up White River. Structure protection on administrative cabins completed. A fire was reported late in the day at Leota Peak. · 8/11 ~ 18,100 acres. Most of today’s fire activity occurred north and east of the White River on the southeast corner of the Little Salmon Creek Fire. Large areas of unburned ground still exist throughout the fire’s perimeter. (increases in acres due to better mapping) · 8/10 ~ 14,345 acres. The fire is generally moving into the wind to the west, moving with the wind to the east in the vicinity of White River and Charlotte Peak. The fire is backing west to Charlotte Peak and moving east into the junction of the White River and South Fork Flathead River. Molly Creek fire was detected today in the upper White River and it was determined to be a suppression fire. Several other ignitions have recently become active. Many are being suppressed. Those that are not are expected to burn into the larger Little Salmon Creek Fire. The fire is mostly in and around the South Fork drainage between Big Prairie and Black Bear. · 8/9 ~14,300 acres estimated. On the south end of Little Salmon fire, some fire activity burning up Holbrook Creek and White River. Structure protection ongoing. From 8/5-8/9 received 13 lightning starts- 9 are suppression fires, 4 are Fire Use Fires. The Fire Use Fires are located near the Little Salmon Fire and are likely to be consumed by the main fire. In the same time frame, 5 lightning starts outside the wilderness were suppressed. One new initial attack fire outside the wilderness last night. · 8/9 ~ 152 acres Pagoda – little change in fire. Lookouts posted on Pagoda Mountain to observe fire behavior removed today due to low fire activity. · 8/8 ~14,300 acres estimated. On south end of Little Salmon Fire, east and west edges show the most heat. Structure protection work complete at Black Bear. Structure protection work to begin on Shaw, Pendant, Hahn and Basin Cabins tomorrow. Some Creek grew to 150 acres. Una and Charlotte are still spots. New lightning starts discovered on Gordon Creek, Independence Park, Salmon Point, and Limestone. 77 people on fire. Non-wilderness fires on Cedar Creek, Lake, North Lake, and Divine Peak. The first 3 were suppressed today. · 8/8 151 acres Pagoda – little change in fire. More precipitation in the past few days has slowed progress of fire. · 8/7 ~14,300 acres estimated. On south end of Little Salmon Fire, east and west edges grew maybe 100 acres. New fire starts discovered on Charlotte, Some Creek, and Una. Dick Rath Wilderness Fire Use Management Team assumed command of complex. Structure protection work complete at Indian Point and Rock Creek Cabins. Work almost completed at Black Bear and Big Prairie. 44 people on fire. · 8/6 ~14,300 acres estimated, winds up to 49 mph blew last night, with 0.24" rain at Big Prairie and 0.10" at Spotted Bear. Little Salmon not much increase in size. 44 people on fire. Lightning caused starts in wilderness at Meadow Mountain, Cathedral, and 2 on Black Bear Mountain. Non-wilderness fires on Stoney Mountain and Horse Ridge. All are suppression fires. · 8/6 151 acres Pagoda – little change in fire. Lookouts flown into Pagoda Mountain to monitor fire. · 8/5 11,789 acres (net decrease in acres due to better mapping) Little Salmon Creek - fire grew slightly west, north of Holbrook Creek, and east on Pine Creek. Crews continue implementing structure protection plans on Big Prairie and Indian Point Cabin.
Community meetings: none scheduled. Earlier News Releases
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Flathead National Forest |
Little
Salmon Creek Complex