Trainload of firefighters fight Sheep
As thick smoke held the Sheep Fire at bay, a trainload of 70 firefighters were working to build line on the Sheep Fire in the Middle Fork of the Flathead with hopes to keep the blaze from spreading to Essex.
The fire is listed at 607 acres as it burns the slope directly across the river from Glacier National Park's Goat Lick viewing area on the Middle Fork. The fire has yet to make any large runs, however, despite seeing high winds last Thursday and Friday.
The town of Essex, just a mile away, has about 200 homes and structures that are potentially threatened by the blaze, but the projected prevailing winds, which come from the southwest, want to push the fire to the northeast, which would be away from Essex, said fire analyst David Greathouse on Sunday.
The fire saw a brief rain shower last Friday and cooler weather on Saturday, which helped firefighting efforts some. Fire activity late last Wednesday and Thursday had firefighters closing U.S. Highway 2 and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway line as a precaution. Both routes have reopened, though the highway has a pilot car system in place to guide vehicles through the fire area.
But this week promises hot and dry conditions. The only thing holding fires back are the smoke inversions, which keep the atmosphere cooler than normal.
Greathouse said the next few days could be trying for firefighters. Another small blaze, the Granite Creek Fire, which although it is only a little more than 280 acres now, has the potential to gain a ridge in the Great Bear Wilderness and threaten the U.S. Highway 2 corridor in the coming days near Snowslip, which is a few miles east of Essex.
"It's setting itself for some big gains," Greathouse said of the Granite Creek Fire.
A logging operation near the fire wrapped up on Monday and could help slow the fire if it advances.
The Thompson Fire in Glacier National Park is the largest of the fires at more than 16,500 acres. But it's burning in Glacier's Nyack Creek backcountry, about 14 miles from U.S. Highway 2 and so far has yet to even spot across the Continental Divide. Despite its size, it's the lowest priority of the blazes.
To date, more than 1.1 million gallons of water have been dropped on the trio of blazes along with 55,400 gallons of retardant. Most of that has gone on the Sheep Fire.
The fires have caused multiple trail closures in the region, check inciweb.gov and navigate to the fire complex for complete closure information, as it changes almost daily.
There was some good news on the fire front. A fire near Waterton Lake in Glacier is now 100 percent contained and the boundary trail as well as several others in the region have reopened.