Update for Sept. 15
Incident: Lily Lake Wildfire
Released: 9/15/2009
FACT SHEET
LILY LAKE FIRE
September 15, 2009
Information Contact: Arlee Staley
Wisdom Ranger District
Phone (406) 689-3243
What: Lightning-caused fire.
Started: The Lily Lake Fire was first detected Thursday evening, August 13.
Update: With more accurate mapping and with winds shifts yesterday, because of a weak storm front that moved thru the area, fire acreage has increased. The fire area did receive .02 inches of rain and increased humidity.
Location: The fire is NE of Wisdom, 1/2 mile east of Lily Lake on the ridge top. Township 2 South, Range 14 West, Section 27.
Current Size: aprox. 707 acres.
Fire Behavior: All slopes are drying and carrying fire in the large downed fuels. With hard frosts, vegetation is curing on the north slopes. The most active section of the fire over the last several days has been on the north and east sides. West winds will push the fire upslope to the ridge in the northeast direction with some fire backing down into the head of McVey Creek. Increased cloud cover and moisture will raise humidity dampening fire activity.
Fuels: The general fuel types in the area are lodge pole, conifer, subalpine fir with some spruce along wet areas. Fuel moistures are 11-13%. North slopes are beginning to dry making the live fuels more available as they die. Fuel is heavy as the last large fire in the area was over 125 years ago. Primary carrier of the fire is the large down dead logs.
Objectives: Firefighter and public safety is always recognized as the first priority for work within the fire environment. Allow this low intensity fire to function as a natural process where appropriate. Where the values at risk are low, manage the fire for resource benefits to improve wildlife habitat, whitebark pine regeneration and to reduce hazardous fuels; within the West Pioneer Wilderness Study Area.
Incident requirements include: Monitor fire growth and base all actions on current and expected fire behavior. Check and/or slow the fire spread that is crossing Management Action Point (MAP) 4, which is the ridge to the north. Keep fire from spreading west of Lily Lake and south into the east fork of Lily Creek.
Weather: Today-Partly sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind east northeast 4-7 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34. East southeast wind 3-7 mph. Wednesday-Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Southeast wind 3-9 mph. Wednesday Night- Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. Southeast wind 6-8 mph. Thursday-A 20 % chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly cloudy, with a high near 76. South wind 5-8 mph. Thursday Night-A 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 40.
Closures: Trail closures are in effect for the immediate fire area including: Trail #3380 from the junction going into Lily Lake to Sand Lake, McVey Trail #3098 to the eastside Overland Trail #3378, and the Pioneer Loop Trail #2750 north of Sand Lake to the junction with Demijohn Creek Trail #2162. Trail guards will be posted at public access points (12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.) to inform the public of current fire conditions.
Steel Creek Campground and Trailhead and the south Fork Doolittle Road #2421 remain open to motorized use.
Additional Fire information: http://www.inciweb.org/
