Click the image or use the arrows to see more images from the South Fork Lost Creek Fire.
Standing on a smoky dirt road Stryker Clark wore a faded Nomex shirt. Ash and dirt smeared his tired face.
Almost two weeks of long days were beginning to take a toll on Clark and the others fighting the South Fork Lost Creek Fire last week. The fire, located southeast of Swan Lake, is one of three large fires in Northwest Montana burning this week. Two others are in remote areas of the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
For Clark, the wilderness attracted him to this line of work eight years ago.
“I grew up in the woods of Montana and love the outdoors so it’s natural to find a job that you can be where you want to be,” he said, while standing watch for debris rolling down a steep slope.
Clark has been a member of the U.S. Forest Service’s Lolo Hot Shots for three years and in that time he has traveled throughout the western part of the country. This season, he has been dispatched to New Mexico and Colorado.
During their 14-day shifts, firefighters wake up at 5:30 a.m. for a morning briefing and breakfast before heading out to the fire line. Clark said most days last anywhere from 10 to 16 hours.
This was day 12 and he was looking forward to his two days off.
At the fire’s peak last week, more than 190 personnel were assigned to it from both the Forest Service and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, according to DNRC fire information officer Pat Cross. Early this week that number had dropped to around 50 people as the fire continued to burn in areas too rugged to access and too remote to matter.
“It’s steep, nasty and treacherous terrain, so we’re not putting crews up in that nasty stuff,” Cross said. “It was burning where we wanted it to.”
As of Aug. 22 the fire had grown to 1,010 acres and Cross guessed the fire would continue to burn for the next few weeks. He said the firefighters who did remain could expect to be there for awhile.
Cross said over the weekend crews did a burnout on the southwest side of the fire, which should prevent it from heading toward Swan Lake, the closest community.
Meanwhile, in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, two large fires continued to burn, but due to their remoteness the Forest Service was limiting the response to protecting structures and access to the west side of the South Fork, according to spokesperson Melissa Wilson. As of Sunday evening the Hammer Creek Fire had grown to 1,350 acres and the Big Salmon Lake Fire was at 2,750 acres.
Wilson said high temperatures and afternoon winds early in the week would likely cause the fires to grow, but as of midday Monday, fire crews plans remained mostly unchanged. The Hammer Creek Fire had 49 personnel assigned to it and the Big Salmon Lake Fire had 19.