HELENA – Ravalli County authorities began knocking on doors at 3 a.m. Friday, warning residents about three miles west of Hamilton that a fire in the Bitterroot National Forest was threatening their homes.
The Downing Mountain fire was reported at 8 p.m. Thursday and quickly grew to 50 to 100 acres. It was one of seven fires sparked by lightning from a cold front that moved through the area with 30 to 35 mph winds. The fires are burning on Forest Service and private land.
More than 50 homes or structures in the Blodgett and Canyon Creek areas are threatened.
“All of the evacuations so far have gone very smoothly,” said Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman. “We are doing our best to inform and assist residents in the affected areas. This is not an easy process for residents to be told at 3 a.m. that they must leave their homes which are currently threatened. Thankfully everyone has been very understanding and cooperative.”
Meanwhile, Helena National Forest officials are hoping cooler weather and higher humidity Friday will help slow the 2,800-acre Davis Gulch fire burning on Stemple Pass northwest of Helena.
Temperatures in the high 90s and strong winds Thursday afternoon helped blow a prescribed burn out of control, forcing the evacuation of more than two dozen homes on Stemple Pass Road.
Canyon Creek Fire chief Jason Grossman said residents in six of the homes and vacation cabins along the gravel and dirt road refused to leave. He said the buildings were not in immediate danger and firefighters were there to watch over the buildings.
“We can’t force them (to leave). They know the danger,” Grossman said.
More than 100 firefighters were trying to form an anchor behind the blaze and protect the homes, but there was very little they could do to contain the fire Thursday afternoon, said incident commander Greg Archie of the Montana Department of Natural Resources.
“The power of the fire is overcoming the power of the people. We have to change that soon,” Archie said.
Temperatures were expected to reach the low 70s in the Helena area on Friday, with winds of 15 mph to 20 mph and gusts to 45 mph.