Type 3 team takes over North Fork fires

The Flathead National Forest reports that a Type 3 management team has taken over responsibility for several wildfires that have been burning up the North Fork since a lightning storm passed through on July 29.

The fires are being collectively called the Hay Creek Complex and for now include fires from the Canada Border to the Coal Creek State Forest, between the Whitefish Divide and the North Fork Road.

Altogether, the Forest Service is using a Type 1 helicopter, two Type 2 helicopters and a Type 3 helicopter along with single engine air tankers to douse the fires.

As of Thursday afternoon, July 31, these North Fork fires included:

• The 7-acre Akinkoka Fire is located south of Whale Creek on steep rocky terrain with no road or trail access. A Flathead Interagency Hotshot Crew and a Flathead Type 2 crew are on hand.

• The 3-4 acre Hay Creek No. 1 Fire is located southwest of Polebridge on steep rocky terrain with no road or trail access. A Great Northern Type 2 initial attack crew is on hand.

• The quarter-acre Hay Creek No. 2 Fire is located southwest of Polebridge on steep rocky terrain with no road or trail access.

• The Thoma Creek Fire is located close to the Canada Border in the headwaters of Thoma Creek near Trail 114A.

• The Moose Creek Fire was located just south of the Ford Cabin. Glacier National Park crews performed an initial attack and put the fire out.

Campers near the Ford Cabin about nine miles north of Polebridge reported helicopters and crews staging there. They also reported a heavy rain fell on Wednesday night, July 30.

Meanwhile in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the 1-acre Trap Mountain Fire is being allowed to burn for wilderness purposes. It’s located about four miles north of the Basin Creek Cabin near the headwaters of the South Fork of the Flathead River.