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Fires Threaten Residences in Western Montana

By Beacon Staff

Twenty-one families were forced from their homes near Arlee after a wildfire grew to nearly three square miles on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

The Firestone Flats fire started over the weekend and as of Monday afternoon, the blaze had burned 1,750 acres of land, or 2.7 square miles, near Jocko Canyon on the southern part of the Flathead Indian Reservation, according to Northwest Montana Incident Management Team Public Information Officer Kristen Baker.

The incident near Arlee joins a growing list of wildfires burning across western Montana. As temperatures rise and fuels dry, officials are warning the public that conditions are prime for wildfires. Fire danger remains high in Flathead County, while Missoula County bumped its warning level to “extreme.”

What sparked the Firestone Flats Fire on July 27 is under investigation. The potential for growth is high, according to fire managers. There are currently 249 personnel working the incidents and three helicopters have been brought in. A Type 2 Incident Management Team took over the fire on July 28.

Baker said most of the evacuations occurred along the Jocko Road near Arlee and that displaced people are currently staying with friends and families.

A small 1.5-acre fire near the Libby Dam over the weekend has closed access to some recreation areas near Souse Gulch. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the human caused fire was first reported on July 26 and was officially suppressed on Sunday afternoon. The burned area, which includes a picnic shelter, remains closed as the investigation continues.

The Moose Meadows fire about 18 miles southwest of Philipsburg has burned 3.4 square miles. The Granite County sheriff’s office evacuated about 30 buildings threatened by the fire.

The lightning-caused Gold Pan Fire Complex has burned just over 18 square miles of land about 35 miles southwest of Sula on the Montana-Idaho border. Firefighters have wrapped a ranger station and a fire lookout in protective material.

The Red Shale fire, which has burned nearly 12 square miles in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, is mostly being allowed to burn. The Lewis and Clark National Forest closed more than a dozen trails and sites.

A wildfire apparently started by a lawnmower burned more than a square mile just northeast of Frenchtown and led to the evacuation of hundreds of residences. The Mill Creek fire was reported just after 2 p.m. on July 25 by a man who said his lawnmower chipped a rock, sending a spark into the dry grass. The fire raced uphill, away from the town, burning more than 700 acres. Firefighters successfully contained 85 percent of the blaze by Monday.

Firefighters have successfully contained the nearly 10-square-mile West Mullan Fire outside Superior. An evacuation order has been lifted.

In the Bitterroot National Forest 35 miles southwest of Sula, the lightning-caused Gold Pan Fire grew to nearly more than 11,600 acres.