Driest summer on record, but fires slowed by rainfall and more on the way
After enduring the driest summer on record, rains over the weekend finally helped quell massive wildfires burning in the region.
The National Weather Service reported Tuesday that from June 1 to Aug. 31, Kalispell saw a mere 1.09 inches of rain, eclipsing the previous record of 1.4 inches set in 1929. The records date back to 1899.
It was also the fifth warmest summer on record, with an average temperature of 65.1 degrees. The summer of 1961 was the warmest, with the average temperature of 67.4 degrees.
But rain and much cooler weather Saturday night and Sunday finally cleared the valleys of smoke and set the fires to a simmer.
An evacuation order at Essex was lifted and U.S. Highway 2, reopened as well, though with a pilot car through the Sheep Fire area. The town was evacuated and the highway closed on Aug. 27 due to fire danger from the 2,000-plus acre Sheep Fire.
But strong winds that were expected Saturday over the Sheep Fire never materialized and rain from a cold front dropped anywhere from .35 inches of rain in West Glacier to .75 inches of rain over the Bear Creek Fire near Spotted Bear.
Crews also completed fire breaks along the railroad tracks from the train trestle to Essex.
East of the Divide also saw about .35 inches of rain. More rain is expected in the coming days with showers from Thursday through the weekend, with highs only in the 50s and lows in the 30s and 40s, said National Weather Service meteorologist Lance Vandenboogart. Exact precipitation amounts are hard to pinpoint, he said, though snow levels are expected to drop to 6,500 to 7,500 feet in Glacier National Park.
"We could see significant precipitation," he said.
Last week saw some wildfires bloom to historic proportions. The Spotted Eagle Fire near Heart Butte bloomed to more than 50,000 acres as high winds hit it for several days. The lightning-caused fire has burned a swath from Heart Butte to the northern edge of the Swift Reservoir along the Rocky Mountain Front, blackening fields out to the prairie.
As of presstime, the evacuation of Heart Butte was partially lifted for residents living east of BIA Route 1.
The fires on the Spotted Bear District also grew in size. All told, local fires west of the Divide from Glacier Park south into the Bob Marshall have burned more than 117,000 acres. The largest fire is the Bear Creek Fire near Spotted Bear at 67,594 acres.
All the fires save for the nearly 18,000-acre Thompson Fire in Glacier Park were lightning caused. The Thompson Fire remains under investigation. The fires have resulted in multiple area closures, though crews are working hard to get facilities and trailheads ready should the rains come hard enough to reopen regions. General hunting season in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and other backcountry areas starts Sept. 15 and archery season statewide starts Sept. 5. But as of presstime, the wilderness portion of the Spotted Bear District and most of the Great Bear Wilderness east of Stanton Lake was closed to public entry.
There is also an area closure up the North Fork from Whale Creek north to Trail Creek because of the Marston Fire.
The closure situation is changing on a daily basis as the weather shifts to a cooler pattern, so the best thing to do before heading out is to check http://inciweb.nwcg.gov for updates on closures.