As northwest Montana’s Skillet Fire continues to burn, the national Great Basin Team 7 and local agency representatives are hosting an informational meeting Tuesday. The firefighters and agency staff will provide community members, including those under evacuation order, with an overview of the fire along with the most up-to-date information.
Without another infrared mapping flight Monday night, the fire’s reported acreage remains unchanged at 2,500 acres. A helicopter delivered structure wrap to the Elk Mountain Lookout yesterday to protect the structure should fire reach the area. Firefighters undertook a burn operation southwest of the fire to reduce the amount of burnable plants between the fire’s current edge and the 3710 road.
Crews are currently prioritizing spot fires as the fire continues to spot out ahead of itself, creating smaller fires outside the main flames. They are continuing to construct a containment line along the roads from the anchor point in the Bowen Creek area on the fire’s west side, in addition to placing hose lays to establish a water supply for the firefighting efforts along the perimeter. Should the fire progress to the south around Good Creek, crews have staged hoses and sprinklers for quick deployment if the fire nears private property and structures.
The community meeting will take place at the Olney Volunteer Fire Department located at 11 Olney Loop Road on Tuesday Aug. 4 at 6 p.m. The meeting will also be recorded and posted to the Flathead National Forest Facebook page.
The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office issued an Evacuation Order on Aug. 1 in the Good Creek/Alder Creek area, where current weather conditions and fire behavior present a threat. For questions regarding the Evacuation Order, call the department’s information line at 406-758-2111. Sign up for Flathead County Emergency Alerts at: https://flatheadcounty.genasys.com/portal/en/register
