Fire Update for Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 8:00am
Incident: Ash Creek Complex Wildfire
Released: 7/12/2012
Greg Poncin
Incident Commander
FIRE UPDATESoutheastern Montana Complex
Update: July 12, 2012 @ 8 am
Contact: SE Montana Complex Fire Information
NEW PHONE: Beginning at 4:00 pm today, please direct calls for fire information to (541) 554-5293.
Phone: Fire Information 406-493-5934 (until 4pm today)
406-521-0367 (until 4 pm today)
541-554-5293 (until 4 pm today)
406-748-3182 (until 4 pm today)
FIRE NAME: Ash Creek Fire
START DATE: June 25, 2012
CAUSE: Lightning
CURRENT SIZE: 249,562 acres
CONTAINMENT: 100%
LOCATION: Started 10 miles east of Lame Deer, Montana
AGENCY: Custer National Forest
FIRE NAME: Taylor Creek Fire
DATE OF DETECTION: July 3, 2012
CAUSE: Unknown
CURRENT SIZE: 62,134 acres
CONTAINMENT: 85%
LOCATION: Started 12 miles southeast of Ft Howes, Montana
AGENCY: Custer National Forest jurisdiction; Bureau of Land Management fire protection
FIRE NAME: Powerline Fire
DATE OF DETECTION: July 3, 2012
CAUSE: Unknown
CURRENT SIZE: 5,265 acres
CONTAINMENT: 100%
LOCATION: 25 miles west of Colstrip.....30 miles south of Hysham, Montana
AGENCY: Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
FIRE NAME: Horse Creek Fire
DATE OF DETECTION: July 2, 2012
CAUSE: Unknown
CURRENT SIZE: 7,575 acres
CONTAINMENT: 100%
LOCATION: 25 miles west of Colstrip....30 miles south of Hysham, Montana
AGENCY: Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
FIRE NAME: Coal Seam Fire
DATE OF DETECTION: June 25, 2012
CAUSE: Unknown
CURRENT SIZE: 527 acres
CONTAINMENT: 100%
LOCATION: 5 miles northwest of Busby, Montana
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs
LAST NIGHT'S ACTIVITY, TODAY'S FORECAST AND PLANNED ACTIVITY:
Yesterday's Red Flag warning resulted in high winds and thunderstorms over the fire complex by late afternoon into the night. Lightning strikes were reported west of the Horse Creek fire late in the afternoon. In Indian Creek about 3.5 miles east of Fort Howes engines mopped up a hot spot close to the fire line on the Taylor Creek fire and stayed in that area overnight. Sawdust piles on the west side of the Ash Creek fire were the cause of reports of smoke and flames seen in the evening, but were well within the interior of the fire area. Crews patrolled throughout the night to make sure fire lines were secure and to pick up any new starts, although none were reported. Aircraft will be flying this morning to patrol for any new fire starts. Limited precipitation occurred in some areas of thunderstorms.
Today will see a return to sunny and dry weather as high pressure rebuilds again. Temperatures will be from 92-97 degrees, relative humidity of 15-20% and north/northeast winds 3-10 mph gusting to 15 mph.
Poncin's Type 1 IMT will turn over command of the fire complex to Rodney Week's Type 3 IMT at 6:00pm this evening. The remaining firefighting resources for all fires in the complex will work out of the fire camp at St. Labre. After this fire update, all future updates on the complex will be provided by Weeks' IMT.
Rehab of dozer lines and mop-up will continue on both the Ash Creek and Taylor Creek fires. Burned Area Emergency Rehab (BAER) teams will continue their survey of public lands. The structural assessment of damaged property on the Taylor Creek fire has been completed. A Rapid Response Group will remain available for any initial attack in the Taylor Creek area. Rehab of fire lines on The Horse Creek and Powerline fires will begin today.
The Ash Creek, Horse Creek, Powerline and Coal Seam fires are 100% contained. Air resources remain available for monitoring and suppression support on all fires.
PERSONNEL AND RESOURCES ON THE COMPLEX: There are a total of 390 personnel assigned to the fires in the complex, including 5 hand crews, 27 engines, 12 dozers and graders, 5 water tenders and 2 helicopters.
CLOSURES: National Forest System lands remain closed north of US Highway 212 on the Ashland Ranger District. A temporary flight restriction (TFR) remains in place over the Taylor Creek fire area to safeguard aerial fire operations.
SPECIAL MESSAGES: Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg is organizing an informational meeting today at 6:00 pm at the St. Labre School auditorium in Ashland. Rehberg has invited representatives from the Farm Service Agency, Bureau of Land Management, U. S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and National Resource Conservation Service. The purpose of the meeting is to provide information to affected livestock owners on what resources are available to help them recover from the fires and prevent further losses and damages. Congressman Rehberg's staff will facilitate the meeting.
US Highway 212 is open. Travelers should also be cautious of fire traffic on Montana State Highways 484 (to Fort Howes) and 39, including through the community of Colstrip where the incident command post is located.
Feed and water for livestock is extremely important to landowners for the recovery effort and locally that effort is being coordinated by the Powder River DES Coordinator Becky McEuen who can be reached 406-853-4284 or call the Powder River Extension Office at 406-436-2424.
Visit http://agr.mt.gov/agr/Producer/HayHotline/ for information on the availability of reduced-price or donated hay and pastures for landowners impacted by wildfires.
For further information on fires within the Complex, go to www.inciweb.org and click on Southeastern Montana Complex and Ash Creek fires.
