Crews had a 345-acre wildfire near Hot Springs 60% contained as of Wednesday morning, with no additional burning expected outside of the established containment lines.
The Clear Creek Fire is a Type 4 incident burning 1.5 miles north of Perma Bridge along Highway 2, according to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Division of Fire.
The fire is under investigation, but heavy rock quarry equipment is believed to have started it. There are no evacuations or threatened structures. The only road closure is Clear Creek Road off Highway 382.
C.T. Camel, fire information officer for the CSKT Division of Fire, said crews established “good boundaries” on Monday night and didn’t anticipate any more burning outside of the containment lines, even with winds forecasted in the coming days.
“Everything should be A-OK,” Camel said Wednesday morning.
The CSKT Division of Fire said “there are miscellaneous overhead, three type 6 engines, one 20 man Type II Initial Attack Crew, and a Type III helicopter assigned to the blaze,” with helicopter bucket work completed yesterday.
Fire officials ask people to stay out of the area, adhere to all closures and maintain safe practices as the 2020 summer wildfire season arrives in Northwest Montana.