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New Type 1 Team Takes Command of Glacier Park Fires

Rattlesnake Fire continues to burn on Flathead Reservation

By Justin Franz
Firefighters set up a pump system to protect an historic boat house from the Howe Ridge Fire in Glacier National Park on Aug. 22, 2018. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon

The Latest

Glacier Park fires grow little with cool weather

Rattlesnake Fire burns 1,100 acres near Hot Springs

Officials say Rattlesnake Fire likely human-caused 

Updated: Aug. 31, 2:50 p.m.

A new Type 1 incident management team took command of firefighting efforts in Glacier National Park this morning.

Mike Goicoechea’s Northern Rockies Type 1 Incident Management Team 1 took over for the Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team at 6 a.m. Friday. The Type 1 team is managing firefighting efforts against two fires in Glacier National Park and three fires in the Flathead National Forest.

Cool weather has slowed growth on all five fires. The Howe Ridge Fire has burned 12,423 acres as of Friday morning and is 12 percent contained. The fire has been creeping on the edges and particularly near Mt. Vaught near the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The highway remains closed between Apgar and Logan Pass, and the upper Lake McDonald and Fish Creek areas remain evacuated. The Howe Ridge Fire has cost $6.6 million to suppress since it was first discovered earlier this month.

The Boundary Fire near Goat Haunt was listed as 2,127 acres and was zero percent contained.

A new fire broke out late Thursday on the Flathead Indian Reservation, 10 miles northeast of Hot Springs. The Rattlesnake Fire started in an old barn that was being dismantled and quickly spread into tall grass and timber. CT Camel of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Division of Fire said the fire was under investigation but was most likely caused by humans. The fire has burned 1,100 acres as of Friday morning.

This story will be updated when additional information becomes available.