Pine Creek Fire Evening Update
Incident: Pine Creek Fire Wildfire
Released: 9/5/2012
Greg Poncin Incident Commander
FIRE UPDATEPine Creek
Update: September 4, 2012 @ 8 p.m.
Contact: Fire Information 406-333-9884
Phones: Terina Mullen 406-208-0934
Karen Tuscano 406-223-2028
Warren Bielenberg 865-919-8663 (media contact)
FIRE NAME: Pine Creek
DATE OF DETECTION: August 29, 2012
CAUSE: Human (under investigation)
CURRENT SIZE: 8,000 acres
CONTAINMENT: 45%
LOCATION: Pine Creek on the east side of Paradise Valley
AGENCY: Park County, Gallatin National Forest
IMT: Greg Poncin's Northern Rockies Incident Management Team
TODAY'S ACTIVITY: A weak cold front passed through the fire area Tuesday morning, bringing cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity. Heavy smoke from other fires in Idaho and Montana blanketed the valley through most of the day. The fire experienced a low level of activity overall. Fire officials flew the Davis Creek in the morning and identified a helispot for potential use in the future. Crews continued mop up in Pine Creek Campground and Luccock Park areas. Engines continued work in the lower Pine Creek area, mopping up hot spots and clearing hazards. Firefighters continued to build fireline on the in the Deep Creek area. There is currently no fire on the north side of the North Fork of Deep Creek.
TOMORROW'S WEATHER AND PLANNED ACTIVITY: The cold front that moved through the area today will keep temperatures cooler tomorrow with lower winds and higher relative humidity.
The portion of the fire in the cirque basin at the head of Davis Creek will continue to be monitored; bucket drops will be used if needed. Crews will continue to reinforce the firelines and secure hot-spots. Structure protection will continue around private property.
The Incident Command Post will be open for tours to the public from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm with tours leaving from the mess tent at 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 2:30 and 3:00. The ICP is located three miles up the Mill Creek Road on the south side. Look for flagging and signs leading to the incident base.
Resources will be available to assist in the initial attack of any new fire starts in the fire area.
PERSONNEL AND RESOURCES ON THE FIRE: There are approximately 429 personnel assigned, including 12 crews, 22 engines, 6 water tenders, 1 dozers, and 4 helicopters.
SPECIAL CONCERNS: Fuels in the area are extremely dry and receptive to burning
Pine Creek Fire - Pre-evacuation order to remain in effect
Firefighters continue to work on securing fireline around the Pine Creek fire. The fire is in pretty good shape; however, the threat has not been completely removed.
Areas currently under a pre-evacuation notice (Deep Creek, Upper Deep Bench , Swingley, West Boulder, George Creek, Pool Creek, Pine Creek, Barney Creek and Luccock Park) will remain in that status until the threat is completely removed.
The pre-evacuation notice encourages residents to keep their bags packed and ready to go in the event the fire activity picks up again, given certain fire behavior conditions (weather, drying of fuels, topographic alignment).
For a more detailed description of the pre-evacuation notice and the rationale for the decision, please contact Fire Chief Dann Babcox or Greg Coleman with the DES office.
The weather forecast for Thursday calls for a NE wind, with potential precipitation (arriving late morning/noon through the afternoon). Days are getting shorter, with a shorter burning period. The fall days will become cooler, assisting firefighting efforts.
Effective at 8:00 a.m.on September 5, 2012:
Roadblock locations previously in effect (East River Road and just north of George Creek Road, Highway 89 and East River Road, Pine Creek Road, just east of KOA) will be removed.
Roads closed to travel by the general public include the following:
·- Deep Creek
·- Deep Creek Bench
·- Lower Deep Creek Bench
·- Luccock Park
Road closures are enacted in order to ensure the safe travel of firefighting resources to and from the fire, as well as the general safety of the residents in the area. Residents are encouraged to drive at slower than normal/posted speeds. A large number of firefighting resources are still working on the southern edge and the northwest corner of the fire.
The areas that changed to a pre-evacuation notice on September 4th included the following:
·- Deep Creek Road
·- Lower Deep Creek Bench Road
The areas that changed to a pre-evacuation notice on September 3rd included the following:
·- Lower Luccock Park Road
·- Barney Creek Road
·- Pine Creek Road area
Other important information:
The area closure on the Gallatin National Forest is still in effect.
Residents that are returning to their homes are encouraged to stay at their property.
Residents are also encouraged to stay off the roads during the early morning and early evening hours to prevent interfering with firefighters accessing and leaving the fire area.
Residents should be aware that helicopters could still be flying overhead, as they are assisting firefighters on the ground on the southern and northwestern portions of the fire.
Parents of children riding a school bus should escort their children to the bus stop and stay with them until the bus arrives; parents should meet their students at the end of the school day at the bus stop.
A temporary flight restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area in order to safeguard aerial fire operations.
For further information, go to www.inciweb.org.
Follow the Northern Rockies IMT on Facebook (Northern Rockies National IMT) or Twitter@Poncin IMT.
Park County Emergency Phone: 406-224-0808
