Pattengail Fire Update, Friday, July 27th
Incident: Pattengail Creek Wildland Fire
Released: 7/27/2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Jon Kohn, Information Officer
Date: Friday, July 27th, 2007Phone: 406-832-3178 (Wise River District)
Fire Start: July 13, 2007Cause: Lightning
Total Acres: 4,256 acresContainment: 25 percent
Location: 11 miles southwest of Wise River, in the Pioneer Mountains, about 40 miles southwest of Butte, Montana
The Pattengail Creek Fire is burning in dense lodgepole pine and subalpine fire, in a remote rugged location with no escape routes and no natural fuel breaks. Because of the unsafe location and intense national need for resources, the team is working to respond safely to the fire as conditions change.
Incident Commander Diane Hutton's team is detailing plans to minimize the fire's impact. "We're looking at all options in the toolbox," she said, "using burnouts, dozer lines, aerial ignitions, and/or natural barriers" to slow portions of the fire in coming days. Crews are also developing resource requirements for structure protection.
Thursday, crews worked on steep ground at a 45 degree angle, mopping up the northwest "finger" of the fire above Shaw Creek. Division Supervisor Dale Johnson said that even with 45% humidity, the fire "was really smoking compared to yesterday." Helicopters dropped water, and ferried crews off the fire last night.
Today, tactical experts are leading squads in areas south of Highway 43 and up Grouse Creek, identifying needs for resources such as pumps, hoses and sprinklers for structures. Helicopters are dropping water on the fire, and mapping lines near the forest boundaries where the fire might be stopped at breaks in the forest cover. Managers are on the ground preparing specific responses to the fire's growth past management action points.
For three days, the fire has remained about two miles above management action points high in the Shaw Creek and Pettengill Creek drainages. If the Pattengail fire reaches a management action point, responses will vary based on current and forecasted weather, but more resources will be enroute from other fires and agencies. To reach structures, the fire would take at least a day, and possibly weeks, after reaching a management action point.
No structures are considered threatened at this time, and no evacuations have been ordered. Structure protection efforts are only precautionary. The current map reflects the fire boundary. The fire edge is eight miles from structures in Grouse Creek.
Public Meeting: Residents can take initiative to help protect their properties, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Wise River Community Hall. The audience and fire team will split into small groups based on neighborhoods. Each group will share specifics and strategies that may help defend structures in that neighborhood. Managers will demonstrate the use of cabin wrap and Barricade® gel.
Fire Restrictions and Closures: Stage 2 fire restrictions ban all open flame of every kind, except gas stoves. Any smokers must smoke in a vehicle or use an area completely clear of burnable material. Driving off designated roads and trails is prohibited. Stage 2 restrictions also limit the operation of chainsaws or other engines, as well as blasting, welding, and similar activities, to hours from 1 a.m. to 1 p.m. Anyone using a small engine outdoors must patrol for two hours afterward, to find any sparks.
Forest lands on the north end of the West Pioneers, north of Lacy and McVey creeks, west of the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway, are closed for public safety. The east Pioneers and south half of the west Pioneers remain a great choice for recreation.
Check http://www.inciweb.org/ or www.fs.fed.us/r1/bdnf/ for more information.
