CLOSURE
Lewis and Clark National Forest Rescinding Order
Rescinding Order LEWIS and CLARK NATIONAL FOREST1101 15th StreetGreat Falls, MT 59403 The Special Order numbered LCNF-2012-10, titled White Sulphur Springs Ranger District Moose Mountain Fire Area. more
Approximate Location
Incident Overview
THE AREA CLOSURE FOR THE MOOSE MOUNTAIN FIRE HAS BEEN RESCINDED IN ITS ENTIRETY.
The Moose Mountain Wildfire is located approximately 6 air miles southwest of Neihart, Montana. The wildfire was caused from a lightning strike from a storm that passed through the area. The Porphyry Lookout called in the blaze September 8th and sixteen smokejumpers and two engines responded and worked to contain the fire. The Moose Mountain Wildfire is estimated to be approximately 27 acres in size. The reduction in size is because of better GPS mapping. Sunday September 9th aerial resources consisting of fixed wing airtankers dropped 10 loads of retardant and helicopters dropped over 35,000 gallons of water to control the head of the fire and limit the spread to the North East. The hard work by the crews on the ground has resulted in an improved containment line around the fire and fire officials have released most resources to other fires.
Public and hunter safety is a major concern for firefighters and fire officials are asking everyone to please use extra caution while recreating on the forest.
Meagher County emergency officials have a cell phone alerting system that people recreating or hunting in the fire area can use to receive emergency notification. Go to WWW. Nixle.com. Sign up for Meagher County Sheriff Alerts.
Inciweb will be undated only if significant activity occurs on the fire.
Basic Information
| Incident Type | Wildfire |
|---|---|
| Cause | Lightning |
| Date of Origin | Saturday September 08th, 2012 approx. 12:00 AM |
| Location | 6 miles southwest of Neihart, Montana |
| Incident Commander | Pickett |
Current Situation
| Total Personnel | 48 |
|---|---|
| Size | 27 acres |
| Percent Contained | 75% |
| Fuels Involved | Continuous mixed conifers with heavy amounts of dead and down material. |
| Fire Behavior | Smoldering |
| Significant Events | More accurate GPS mapping of the fire reduced the size of the fire to 27 acres. The fire has been relatively inactive for several days and the fire has been taken back over by a smaller Type 4 organization. The fire will continue to be monitored on a regular basis and Inciweb will not be updated unless there is significant activity. |
Outlook
| Planned Actions | Reduction of area under Temporary Emergency Closure Order today to allow increased safe public access while also assuring access and safety for firefighters. |
|---|---|
| Growth Potential | Contained has reached 75%. Cooler temperatures and higher humidity levels over the past few days have kept the fire activity relatively low. |
| Terrain Difficulty | Difficult ground conditions for crews with heavy down fuels and high percent of bug killed timber. Numerous snags and steep ground and lack of ground access to actual fireline area. |
| Remarks | Steep difficult terrain, winds and heavy fuels are a challenge to suppression efforts. |
Current Weather
| Wind Conditions | 11 G 17 mph SW |
|---|---|
| Temperature | 45 degrees |
| Humidity | 53% |
