Sun Dog fire under attack

Blaze about 20 miles north of Columbia Falls, forces road closures

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

A fire about five miles northwest of Moose Lake up the North Fork of the Flathead has burned about 60 acres and was seeing plenty of air attack early this week as bombers dropped loads of retardant on it and a helicopter was making water drops as well.

The fire, called the Sun Dog fire, is one of at least three known fires in the Flathead area, all of which are small. The fires are believed to be holdovers from lightning last week.

Sun Dog has prompted the closure of several roads and trails in the North Fork, including:

€ Forest Road #317, Coal Creek Road,

€Forest Road #909, Cyclone Road,

€ Forest Road #5241, Moran Creek Road

€ Forest Trail #40, Cyclone Lookout Trail

€ Forest Trail #14, Coal Ridge Trail

€ Forest Trail #2, Moran Creek Trail, and

€ Forest Trail #239, Coal Creek Trail.

In addition to Sun Dog, the Holland Peak Fire, south of Rumble Creek Lake, approximately eight miles east of Condon was detected late Monday and was about 100 acres.

The area saw plenty of thunderstorms last week and some places saw a quarter-inch of rain. That cooled off the fire danger for a few days, but early this week the area saw drier and warmer temperatures, which boosted the fire activity.

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex is also seeing a host of fires, according to Flathead National Forest spokeswoman Denise Germann.

Glacier National Park has seen two small blazes in the Middle Fork and another small one near Two Medicine. Those have been contained.

The largest Bob Marshall fire is about 125 acres. Called the Jenny Creek Fire, it is below Youngs Mountain.

The Tango Point fire is 50 acres in the Bob Marshall near upper Big Salmon Creek. Both fires were lightning caused. In the Bob alone, there are about 13 fires.

The bulk of the wilderness fires are being managed as wildland fires, which means they'll be allowed to burn.

Temperatures are expected to stay about normal, with highs in the 70s and 80s, with a slight chance of showers.

Some areas, Germann noted, haven't seen rain in weeks, particularly in the southern reaches of the Flathead.

All told, there have been 25 starts across Northwest Montana.

The area is getting fire severity funds, however, Germann noted. This has allowed for four more engines and a helicopter that is being shared by Glacier Park and the Forest Service.

In addition, the Forest Service has more fire crews available from the additional funding, Germann noted.

As such, most the starts have remained small.

Stage I Fire Restrictions continue for Northwest Montana, including all lands within Flathead and Lincoln counties, plus that portion of Lake County outside the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Lands, plus all lands administered by the Kootenai National Forest, Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park.

Stage I means no campfires out of developed areas and no smoking as well. Glacier has also banned campfires and smoking in the backcountry.

Anyone causing a wildfire can be held financially responsible for damages and the cost of putting out that fire.