Pattengail Creek Fire Update, August 7, 2007
Incident: Pattengail Creek Wildland Fire
Released: 8/7/2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Susan Zornek-Stevens, Information
Date: Monday, August 7, 2007 Phone: 406-832-3178 (Wise River District)
Fire Start: July 13, 2007 Cause: Lightning
Total Acres: 3900 acres Containment: 25%
Location: Fire start was 11 miles southwest of Wise River, in the west Pioneer Mountains, about 40 miles southwest of Butte, MT
The eastern flank of the Pattengail Creek Fire continues to be a problem. The operational manager is assessing the safety of inserting a small hand crew near Grouse Creek to put a line around the spot fires. Monday, air support was diverted to other fires with imminently threatened structures. The medium helicopter was requested again to help prevent the spot fires along the north and eastern sections of the fire from growing. Because this fire is not advancing as rapidly as other fires in the region, it is considered to be a lower priority. The slow rate of growth gives the management team and cooperators the opportunity to fine tune the management plan to specific needs of the affected community. It also gives residents more opportunity to prepare in the event an evacuation becomes necessary.
Weather: Today's weather calls for mostly sunny skies, with areas of smoke. There will be a chance of isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Maximum temperatures today will reach 77-87 in the valleys, 67-77 on the upper ridges. Relative Humidity will range from 16-26 %. Winds in the lower elevation will be out of the west less then 7mph. On the ridge tops, winds will be out of the west at 5-15mph.
Public Meeting: The next public meeting is scheduled, at the Wise River Community Center on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 7:30 PM. A demonstration of the Low Volume Drilled Hose Structure Protection Sprinkler System will be presented by Jeff Liggett, Structure Protection Specialist from Portland, OR. Also Judy Tillman will discuss additional grant money available to help with Hazardous Fuel Reduction. Joe Hickey will be available with information about Thermo-Gel.
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.
