Firefighters were working to hold a fast-moving fire east of Eureka that already had forced evacuations of nearby cabins and homes.
Lightning sparked four separate fires on the west side of Mount Gibraltar at about 8 p.m. Monday that grew quickly, according to Derek Deshazer of the Kootenai National Forest’s Eureka District.
The fire was estimated to be about 800 acres at noon. It is burning through some mixed fuels, including some heavy timber, on the Gibraltar Ridge, which is about 10 miles east of Eureka on the boundary of the national forest.
Firefighters were attempting to make a stand on the Foothills Road in the early afternoon. Deshazer said the fire was spotting in some places below the road.
“There are a fair number of structures as you get lower down the hill,” Deshazer said. “We’re trying to keep it as high up on the mountain as possible.”
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Areas under evacuation orders include Sherman Creek, Griffith Creek, Therriault Creek Road and Stevens Creek. Residences in Graves Creek are on standby alert for potential evacuation.
A Type II incident management team is on its way to Eureka to take over the management of the fire from the local district.
“We are in the process of getting there right now,” said Hailey Graf, the team’s public information officer. “Throughout today and tomorrow, you’ll see additional resources showing up at the fire.”
On Tuesday afternoon, there were 20 Forest Service firefighters on the scene. They were getting help from both volunteer firefighters from Eureka and Trego, as well as an airplane making retardant drops and a helicopter dumping water on hot spots.
“They have seen some very active fire behavior, including some torching and some spotting,” Graf said. “As far as we know now, there have not been any structures lost.”
A Red Cross shelter has been set up for evacuees at the Church of God, 1295 2nd Ave. East in Eureka. The county fairgrounds is accepting livestock and smaller animals can be taken to the Tobacco Valley Animal Shelter.
Sunrise fire: The Sunrise fire had surpassed 14,000 acres Tuesday and was at 20 percent containment as the fire edged over Verde Ridge and Eagle Rock Saddle, closing Trout Creek Road.
Lighter winds are expected to help firefighters over the next few days, and the fire is moving downslope, which will ease the effects of wind according to public information officer Ted Pettis.
Pettis said that the Sunrise fire is currently “not a threat to I-90 or the Clark Fork,” as the long-range spotting that was sending embers a mile forward earlier in the fire’s life has calmed down. But changing winds over the next few days are an unknown risk factor Pettis says.
Doug Turman’s Type I Team is currently dealing with the Sunrise Fire, and while its complexity is really “a low-grade Type I,” as Pettis calls it, if it jumps the freeway then it would be a full-blown Type I fire.
Liberty fire: The Liberty fire is up to 90 percent containment as heavy fuels burn out and the fire continues to smolder and creep.
The fire is causing morning smoke impacts in Arlee, according to the August 8 wildfire air quality update from the Missoula City-County Health Department.
The current firefighting strategy has been changed over the last few days from full suppression to “0 percent confine, 20 percent monitor, and 10 percent full suppression,” according to the Inciweb Incident Management System.
“Elevated risk for personnel constructing direct line in most areas of the fire, low probability of success in direct line containment, and fire stalling at natural barriers” all played into the strategy shift.
Rice Ridge fire: The Rice Ridge fire is still being affected by the vast amounts of smoke in and around Seeley Lake, where the air quality Tuesday morning was again considered “hazardous.”
Public information officer Mark DeGregorio said that the fire teams are expecting “pretty active fire to pick up” in the Blind Canyon area, which began to show more activity Monday.
Heavy equipment and aircraft will be used on the south and southeast portions of the Blind Canyon Area, according to the Rice Ridge Fire Update for August 8 on Inciweb, and the hotter and drier weather means the fire’s activity “has the potential to become critical.”
Sapphire Complex: The Sapphire Complex is still burning with over 25,000 acres lost. The fires are currently at 29 percent containment as firefighters continue to work the perimeter.
The Little Hogback fire is at 17,139 acres burned and is still at 0 percent containment while firefighters conduct firing operations in order to “remove unburned fuel between the line and the fire” according to Inciweb. Smoke is affecting aerial support, and structure protection crews have been pulled from the Goat Creek Fire to help with protection efforts around the Little Hogback.
The Goat Creek fire is at 75 percent containment and is just under 8,000 acres.
Hotshot crews are conducting burning operations along the eastern flank of the fire as they attempt to remove unburned islands of fuel. Engines are cooling heat pockets, and other resources have halted potential flareups along Rock Creek and Brewster Creek Roads.
The Sliderock fire is up to 30 percent containment and is at 842 acres burned.
Indirect line is being improved and a crew was holding the fire line on the south and southeast flanks Tuesday.
Lolo Peak fire: See related story.
