Fire managers are scaling down suppression efforts at the Seepay Fire and fire restrictions are expected to be lifted this weekend as cool weather and rainfall approach. The 1,060-acre fire, located 20 miles west of Dixon, has calmed in recent days thanks to favorable conditions.
Long-Term Fire Analyst Mary Taber stated that the incoming rain will not only cause a fire season pause but when combined with last weekend’s rains it may be a season-ending event for western Montana.
Fire crews are preparing to demobilize from the incident, which is transitioning to a smaller Type 3 Incident Management Team.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are removing Stage 1 fire restrictions on Saturday, Aug. 23.
The following roads will remain closed: Seepay Creek Road from Highway 200 up is closed. Revais, Magpie, and Vanderberg creek roads are closed from the top over into Seepay. The public can still drive up to top of Revais, Magpie, and Vanderberg. Roads at the top are closed and barricaded.
The Thompson River Complex, a 1,646-acre fire near Thompson Falls, is 60 percent contained, according to fire managers. Favorable, moist weather has decreased fire behavior on the Spruce Fire significantly, allowing firefighters to make additional progress on mop up efforts. Contingency lines on Sundance Ridge and east to mixed ownership lands are nearly complete. Firefighters on the Koo Koo Sint fire have completed mop up and have nearly completed fireline repair activities. Little to no growth is expected on the Spruce Fire area due to the multiple days of precipitation received during the last week. No growth is expected on the Koo Koo Sint, Marmont and Sleepy Gulch Fires.