Deer Creek Fire Near Flathead and Lincoln County Border Grows to 963 Acres
Firefighters continue to build fire line around the blaze, which is located 18 miles west of Marion and remained at 0% containment as of Monday morning.
By Lauren Frick
With favorable weather anticipated on Monday, firefighting crews are expected to make “good progress” on the 963-acre Deer Creek Fire along the Flathead and Lincoln County line, according to an update from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC).
Firefighters will utilize dozer and hand crews to continue building fire line around the blaze, which is located 18 miles west of Marion and remains at 0% containment as of Monday morning.
There are no evacuations or closure orders at this time, but members of the public are encouraged to avoid the Pleasant Valley Area to allow emergency access by responders and ensure firefighter and public safety.
On Sunday, Northern Rockies Team 9, Type 3 Incident Management Team, assumed command of the Deer Creek Fire. Firefighters completed the fire line from the anchor point along the Pleasant Valley Fisher River on the northern edge of the fire with heavy equipment and hand crews. Crews mopped up along the northern side and nearly completed the hose lay along the northeastern and southwestern sides up to the ridge top.
On Monday, firefighters and heavy equipment will continue building fire line along the southern edge of the fire and expect to make good progress connecting roads to be used as holding features. If fair weather holds, crews anticipate completing the hose lay along the eastern edge of the fire and will cool hot spots, according to the Aug. 24 DNRC update.
A warming and drying trend is expected over the next few days. Winds on Monday will be from the southeast in the morning, shifting to southwest and upslope by afternoon, and are expected to be light. The fire behavior is expected to be moderate, with little fire growth from the wind.
The Deer Creek Fire is expected to send smoke into the Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park in the coming days, according to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Aug. 24 smoke forecast. As of 8 a.m. on Monday, particulate levels in Columbia Falls were rated as “moderate.”
Hundreds of lightning strikes, accompanied by spotty precipitation and strong winds, over the course of the weekend also resulted in six new fire starts in the Flathead National Forest.
Firefighting crews responded to the following new fire starts, according to an Aug. 23 release from the U.S. Forest Service:
Adams: located on Adams Mountain in the Good Creek drainage. A Type 1 helicopter is providing bucket support to ground crews. Engines, one Type 2 initial attack 20-person crew, and heavy equipment are on scene. Size — approximately 7.4 acres burning in heavy timber and blowdown.
Trixie: located in the Good Creek drainage. Interagency initial attack response includes several engines, equipment and fire personnel. A Type 3 helicopter has been ordered for bucket support. Size — approximately 1 acre.
Russky: located on top of the Whitefish Divide about 5 miles west of Red Meadow Lake. Reported by Montana DNRC fixed wing with helicopter rappel crew initial attack response. Size — approximately 0.1 acre
Meadow: located 3 miles south of Tally Lake. Interagency initial attack response last night with the West Valley Fire Department successfully contained the fire. One engine is currently engaged in mop up. Size — approximately 0.1 acre
Lupine: located in the Griffin Creek area, north of Little Bitterroot Lake. Interagency initial attack response with Montana DNRC and Marion Fire Department successfully contained the fire. One engine is currently engaged in mop up. Size — approximately 0.1 acre
Camp Creek: located on the Spotted Bear Ranger District in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, northeast of Jumbo Lookout above the Danaher drainage. The fire was reported by the Jumbo Lookout on Friday afternoon. Initial size estimate was 0.1 acre with isolated torching and rapid growth. Smokejumpers and local firefighters were inserted for the initial attack, joined by ground crews. The fire made a short crown run, increasing the size to over 50 acres. Fire behavior was active with short-range spotting, making fire suppression efforts challenging. Size — The fire remained active overnight, growing to approximately 77 acres as of Saturday afternoon.