Cascade Fire 08/04/08 5:00 PM
Incident: Cascade Wildland Fire
Released: 8/4/2008
Containment is upto 66% on the Cascade Fire.
··Rumor Control: The city and businesses of Red Lodge are open and have been. All surrounding highways to and from Red Lodge are open and have been. Most of the activities planned for the area are still taking place. Check with the Chamber of Commerce for an update.··
The Cascade Fire is six miles west of Red Lodge, Montana. Wally Bennett's Type 1 Northern Rockies Interagency Incident Management Team is fighting the fire. Bennett's team is also providing support and reassigning resources to the Tumble Fire, a fire approximately 40 miles to the west.
Today's Activities:
Crews and helicopters have made good progress on the north, east and south sides of the fire. Crews mopped up, pulled hose, packed out unneeded pumps and continued line construction along the unsecured perimeter in the south and west. The remainder of the fire is burning into natural barriers to the west. The afternoon minimum humidity was 53% with a temperature of 65 which significantly reduced fire behavior. There is potential for thunderstorm activity to continue thru the evening.
There will be tours of the Cascade Fire Camp tomorrow, August 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. These tours will be at half hour intervals. Plan to enter through the Highway 78 Fairgrounds entrance.
Resources assigned: 18 hand crews (20 people each), 18 engines, 6 water tenders, 2 feller bunchers, 2 skidgines and 8 helicopters for a total of 638.
Evacuations, Closures: The Custer National Forest has issued a fire Area Closure order that includes most of the trails and back country in the West Fork drainage. The mandatory evacuation for the Grizzly Peak subdivision has been lifted; however, residents are still on alert. Cabin owners and Lions Club Camp are being allowed back in Lake Fork Road per Bear Creek Ranger District.
Other information sources: http://www.inciweb.org/, http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf http://www.firewise.org/fw youcanuse/index.htm,redlodge.com
