Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 8.13.14

10 | AUGUST 13, 2014 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM Seepay Fire Grows to 600 Acres near Perma
Facts
FIGURES
Numbers in the news
900
Bison in Yellowstone National Park that administrators are recommending be removed next winter through hunting, shipments to slaughter and for research purposes; the proposal represents about 19 percent of the park’s wild bison.
$2 Billion
Net loss for the U.S. Postal Service reported in the latest quarterly filings, despite an increase in revenues.
82
Painkiller prescriptions for every 100 Montanans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; from 2010-2011, there were more than 300 deaths from prescription drug overdoses.
Two large fires continue
to burn in western
Montana as rainstorm
approaches
By BEACON STAFF
Fire activity continues to pick up across the state, and two of the largest blazes are burning in western Montana.
The Seepay Fire on the Flathead Indi- an Reservation near Perma has ballooned to 600 acres, according to fire manag- ers. The fire is burning in high elevation in lodgepole pine and subalpine fir. Ron Swaney with the CSKT Fire Management Division said nearly 60 personnel are fighting the blaze. A Type 2 Incident Man- agement Team will take over the fire Aug. 12, Swaney said.
There are no impending threats to houses, Swaney said. But the tribe has closed four roads in the area: Seepay Creek Road; Vanderburg Creek Road; Magpie Creek Road; and Three Lakes Peak trail- head.
The Seepay Fire was sparked by light- ning July 17. It is burning roughly six miles south of Perma, and 1.5 miles northwest of Three Lakes Peak in the Upper Seepay Creek roadless area. The terrain is remote and very steep, with heavy downed, dead material under thick beetle-killed trees.
The Thompson River Complex, burn- ing in the mountains near Thompson Falls, reached 781 acres on Aug. 11. The complex includes two separate large fires: the Koo Koo Sint Fire and the Spruce Fire. The Koo Koo Sint Fire is located north of Highway 200, approximately 6 miles east of Thompson Falls. The Spruce Fire is roughly 6 miles northeast of Thompson Falls in the Spruce Creek drainage.
In addition, a holdover fire from recent lightning storms was located recently ap- proximately 2.5 miles north of the Spruce Fire. That fire, being called the Marmot Fire, will also be managed under the Thompson River Complex.
A Type 2 Northern Rockies Incident Management Team, under the leadership of Rick Kusicko, is managing the complex with 280 personnel. The entire complex is
Wildfires near Thompson Falls on Aug. 2. COURTESY INCIWEB estimated at 25 percent containment.
Crews do not expect any significant fire growth this week.
Another fire, named the Colt Lake Fire, is 10 acres and burning north of See- ley Lake.
Weather could benefit fire crews this week, as the National Weather Service is- sued a warning about active rainstorms headed this way. The Northern Rockies are expected to receive storms this week that could produce damaging winds and potentially heavy rain. Thunderstorms could arrive Thursday and later in the week. Cooler temperatures could arrive by Aug. 15.
Fire danger is “very high” in much of western Montana, and stage 1 restrictions are in effect for portions of Lake Coun- ty within the reservations, and Sanders County within the Lolo National Forest.
The restrictions prohibit the building of a campfire in locations besides Finley Point, Big Arm and Thompson Falls state parks. LP gas or propane stoves that can be turned on and off are allowed. Smoking is also prohibited in outdoor areas besides an enclosed vehicle, a developed recre- ation site or in an area with at least three feet of cleared, non-flammable material.
Though the Flathead Valley has large- ly avoided high activity, smoke continues to linger from Washington, where 12 large wildfires are actively burning in the cen- tral and eastern parts of the state. Fire officials report there are more than 1,000 homes and structure in danger.
In Idaho, the Big Cougar Fire has grown to 65,000 acres. The massive blaze is 20 miles south of Lewiston, and is burn- ing in timber and grass.
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