Fire focus shifting to forests
BOISE – Seventeen large fires burned in Idaho on Saturday as fire managers began to contend with the fire season moving from grasslands into forests.
“Over the last two weeks we’ve started to see large forest fires become established in the Rockies of Montana, Idaho, and the Cascades and Sierras,” said Ken Frederick, spokesman for the Boise-based National Interagency Fire Center.
One of those is the four-fire Cascade Complex, located in the Boise National Forest 16 miles northeast of Cascade. Along with other fires, it has closed roads leading to the community of Yellow Pine and forced the cancellation of the Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival this weekend for the first time in the event’s 18-year history.
It has burned about 80 square miles and was 23 percent contained.
“We’re getting some winds and higher humidity today,” Pete Jankowski, a fire information officer, said Saturday. “We’ve had some increase in fire activity.”
He said 939 managers and firefighters were assigned to the blaze, which was burning in mostly pine timber and that they were working to prevent the fire from moving north and west toward populated areas, including Yellow Pine.
Jankowski said there were no evacuations in the area.
Nearby, the three-fire East Zone Complex, burning about 25 miles northeast of McCall in timber and grass, was being whipped by winds.
“All three fires have picked up activity,” said George Broyles, fire information officer. “It’s still within our containment lines and we’re looking at holding it in.”
He said two small communities, Warren and Secesh, were in the path of the fires but were still about five miles away. He said both communities are in valleys, and that firefighters have been clearing brush from homes.
“If the fire gets there it will be backing downhill,” Broyles said. “We’ve got a high confidence level of stopping it before it gets to those communities.”
But he said gusty winds were making conditions tricky for firefighters Saturday, and that lookouts on high points and in an airplane were watching for possible dangerous situations, such as a spot fire starting in front of the main fire that could cut off firefighters from a safe area.
He said the fire was about 60 square miles and 20 percent contained, with about 800 people assigned to the blaze.
Montana
Safety concerns prompted authorities to pull fire crews off a new wildfire burning northeast of Missoula on Saturday, as residents of some 200 homes near the popular getaway spots of Seeley and Placid lakes were told to evacuate.
“This fire is in the hands of God right now,” Gov. Brian Schweitzer said after flying over the blaze in a helicopter.
The fire had burned an estimated 5,000 acres, or nearly 8 square miles, as of Saturday afternoon. Winds between 25 and 30 mph were helping to fan the blaze, which began Friday afternoon.
Schweitzer said the fire was volatile and could grow rapidly, jeopardizing crews.
“We can’t risk firefighters’ lives,” Schweitzer said.
The fire was still about three miles west of Seeley Lake, he said. The evacuation order did not apply to the town of Seeley Lake, but covered about 200 homes scattered around it and Placid Lake to the south, said Jamie Kirby, a state fire prevention specialist.
There were no reports of homes burning, Kirby said.
Schweitzer urged people to leave without delay.
“Open the gates, turn the livestock loose, take your pets, shut off the propane at the tank, shut off the electricity and get out,” he said.
The Missoula County Sheriff’s Department issued the evacuation order. Sheriff Mike McMeekin was knocking on doors Saturday to advise people to leave, Cpl. James Riekena said.
In northwestern Montana about 26 miles north of Whitefish, a fire burning in the Flathead National Forest prompted an evacuation order for an estimated 50 homes.
The Brush Creek fire had burned 14,000 acres, or nearly 22 square miles, by Saturday evening and was about two miles from a firefighters’ camp, which was moved several miles to the east, Braunberger said.