Thursday August 23rd 8:30 PM update
Incident: Pattengail Creek Wildland Fire
Released: 8/23/2007
Warmer, drier, windy weather returns the weekend of August 25th. Until then, firefighters are clearing wide stands of decayed lodgepole pine to build fireline south of Highway 43, above homes in the Big Hole valley. Entire trees were occasionally torching, or catching afire, on the fire's northwest side Thursday, but the fire did not grow significantly.
"We're getting pretty close to tying off" the eight-mile-long contingency line above Bryant Creek, said Tony McWilliams, leader of a task force of logging equipment. "We moved a lot of logs today," said Division Supervisor Tony James Thursday evening. More equipment will join the dozer, two feller-bunchers, two skidders, a masticator, and saw teams, as crews will be working above Alder Creek.
Thursday, individual trees torched in afternoon sun in Papoose and Squaw Creek valleys. Both inside and near the burned area, standing dead trees called "widowmakers" pose a great hazard when the wind blows, whether or not they have burned.
Weather: Friday will be warm and dry with high temperatures near 80 in valleys. Saturday's humidities drop to the teens, with gusty 20 mph winds southwest winds, and continued warming and drying the following week.
Fire Restrictions and Closures: Tie Creek Road remains closed as equipment works on the contingency line. For public safety, Forest lands in the north half of the West Pioneer Mountains, north of Lacy and McVey Creeks, may remain closed at least through September, until soaking rains come for several days in a row.
When hunting season begins, lots of other great hunting areas will remain open around the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The east Pioneers, south side of the west Pioneers, Anaconda Range, and Big Hole will all be open in the Wise River District alone.
Southwest Montana remains in Stage 2 fire restrictions which prohibit smoking outdoors except in cleared, designated areas, and prohibit all open flame except gas stoves.
