19 Mile Fire Update 0903 7am
Incident: 19 Mile Wildfire
Released: 9/3/2012
Issue date: September 3, 2012 Start Date: August 28, 2012
Fire Information Phone Number's: 1-877-608-0026, 1-877-608-0120, 1-877-608-0020
Cause: Lightning
Location: 10 miles south east of Butte, MT
Current Size: 4,160 acres Containment: 72%
Resources Assigned: 9-twenty person crews, 38 engines, 3 helicopters, 2 air tankers, 461 total personnel.
Closures: BLM has closed OHV trail/connector routes #24, 25, 26 from Whiskey Gulch Trailhead to a point just north of I-90, located T2N R6W, sections 23-26 and 35. The Forest Service has closed Rader Creek/Moose Creek Road #240 from Homestake Pass T2N R7W, Section 13 to Highway 2, T1N R6W Section 16. Fire officials are asking the public to avoid using Highway 2 between Butte and Whitehall to provide for the safety of firefighters and the public. Recreationists expecting to ride in the Pipestone OHV area north of I-90 over Labor Day weekend are asked to make alternative plans in case of a closure due to fire activity.
Evacuation and closure orders were lifted for the public to the interior of the fire effective 8:00 a.m. Sunday.
Current Status: Throughout Sunday the fire was more active with lower humidity and drier vegetation. Crews are continuing to work in the interior on assessing the remaining unburned green vegetation islands. Firelines are being reinforced and monitored along the perimeter while engines provide structure point protection. Sufficient fireline has been constructed around most of the perimeter allowing crews to move it into a hold, improve and mop-up mode. Winds have been picking up around the fire area around 3 p.m.
Planned Actions: Full mop up continues within a 120-130' radius from structures and securing perimeter firelines. Fire personnel will continue to protect structures as the first priority as well as securing the areas within the unburned islands of fuels. These operations will occur 24 hours a day.
Community Meeting: The final community meeting was held on Sunday night September 2nd. If a change in fire behavior or intensity occurs, more will be scheduled.
Weather: The inversion is expected to dissipate by noon leaving mostly sunny skies for the rest of the day. Temperatures will range from 70-80 degrees while winds will be out of the west 12-17 mph with gusts up to 25. Relative humidity is still low.
Remarks: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has confirmed 14 primary residences and an undetermined number of additional structures have been lost, along with a camp trailer, a semi-trailer and numerous cars, trucks and ATV's. The team is working closely with local officials to determine any additional structure losses, the type, location and notification.
Cooperating Agencies: Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Butte BLM, Jefferson County, local and rural volunteer fire departments, MT DNRC.
The fire is listed on Inciweb: http://www.inciweb.org/
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