Crews continue to work on Glacier fire

Firefighters saw significant progress on the Reynolds Creek Fire in Glacier National Park over the past week, but they warn the fire will likely burn until it snows or the region sees significant rainfall.

The cost of suppressing the fire, which is now mapped at 3,913 acres, is now $8.3 million. The fire is now 67 percent contained. Firefighters had a busy week hitting spot fires that escaped to the east and the fire grew in areas to the north in Two Dog Basin.

Last week crews set a burnout behind the Rising Sun Motor Inn and the campground to secure line there. The fire has not moved east toward the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road is closed from Logan Pass on the east side to the St. Mary Campground. Fire was still actively burning near the road inside the fire perimeter and there are numerous hazard trees that still need to be removed.

The Red Eagle Lake Trail and subsequent campgrounds have reopened. Just two backcountry campgrounds remain closed — Gunsight Lake and Reynolds Creek. All trails in the immediate fire area remain closed. The St. Mary Visitor Center is open.

A second structure was burned in the fire — firefighters found the remains of an old cabin near the St. Mary River. It was likely a squatter’s cabin that pre-dated the park. All that was left was stone wall. 

Crews currently have 71 miles of hose line on the fire and have dumped well over 1 million gallons of water on it. 

The weather this week is expected to be a bit cooler, with highs in the 70s to near 80, though the chance of rain is low. Thursday could be a trying day — wind gusts could hit 40 mph over the fire.