Pattengail Creek Fire Update, Saturday Evening Jul
Incident: Pattengail Creek Wildland Fire
Released: 7/29/2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jon Kohn, Information Officer
Date: Sunday, July 29th, 2007 Phone: 406-832-3178 (Wise River District)
Fire Start: July 13, 2007 Cause: Lightning
Total Acres: 4,256 acres Containment: 25 percent
Location: 11 miles southwest of Wise River, in the Pioneer Mountains, about 40 miles southwest of Butte, Montana
Helicopter buckets drops continue to slow the hottest spots in the Pattengail Creek fire. Managers are on the ground preparing specific responses to the fire's growth past management action points. Saturday, Fire Behavior Analyst Darrell Schulte said, "You'd work your sawyers to death in there, but it would be dangerous to put crews in." Trees were torching Saturday afternoon.
Waist-high dead and downed material litters the forest. "There are hundreds of small spot fires ahead of" the main fire, said Division Supervisor Dale Johnson. Managers can't put crews at risk, with fire potentially on all sides of them. Fire activity should pick up on Sunday, with low humidity. Community members are receiving visits to help them prepare defensible space for their properties.
The Incident Command Post moved to Wise River from Wisdom.
Weather: Dry southwest breezes bring isolated dry thunderstorms Sunday, with temperatures above 90 in valleys and humidities down to 12%. Fire activity picks up when relative humidity drops into the teens and temperatures pass 80 degrees on the mountainside. A dry cold front will pass on Monday.
Public Meeting: A public meeting gathers Wednesday, August 1st at 7:30 p.m. in the Wise River Community Hall. Saturday, the audience met in small groups to develop answers how to help make their homes more defensible. Rene Eustace of the Bitterroot National Forest explained cabin wrapping. Engine Foreman Matt Nelson and crew demonstrated use of a water-absorbing gel to protect wooden structures. A New Mexico engine crew showed sprinklers which can protect structures when residents are elsewhere.
The fire remains at least 1 ½ miles above management action points high in the Shaw Creek and Pettengill Creek drainages. If the fire reaches a management action point, more resources should be enroute from other fires and agencies. No structures are considered threatened at this time, and no evacuations have been ordered. Structure protection efforts are only precautionary. The fire edge remains at least seven miles from structures in Grouse Creek.
Fire Restrictions and Closures: Stage 2 fire restrictions are in place on public lands in southwest Montana. For public safety, the north end of the west Pioneer Mountains has an Area Closure.
Check http://www.inciweb.org/ or www.fs.fed.us/r1/bdnf/ for more detailed information.
