Lightning Starts Fire on Bitterroot

By Beacon Staff July 13, 2009

HAMILTON – A weekend lightning storm that rolled through western Montana’s Bitterroot National Forest caused at least one new wildfire on the Stevensville Ranger District.

Rangers say the blaze — located about five miles inside the Kootenai Creek drainage just northwest of Stevensville — is burning on about five acres of timber in steep, rugged terrain.

So far, fire officials in the ranger district are assessing the best approach to tackling the blaze.

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