September 8, PM Pattengail Creek Fire Update
Incident: Pattengail Creek Wildland Fire
Released: 9/8/2007
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Vance Persing, Information Officer
Cause: Lightning Fire Start: July 13, 2007
Location: 10 miles southwest of Wise River, Montana, in the west Pioneer Mountains
Cooperating Agencies: Beaverhead County, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Butte-Silver Bow County, Bureau of Land Management, MT Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, MT Department of Transportation, USDA Forest Service
Total Personnel on Fire: 3 Acres: 15,297
Pattengail Creek Fire: On Saturday, the Pattengail Creek Fire experienced cool temperatures and relatively high humidity. Firefighters overseeing the burn continue to believe that the fire has seen the last of its dramatic crown fire runs. Although National Forest and Bureau of Land Management officials warn that there may still be flare-ups within the existing burn, they express confidence that the fire perimeter will not grow significantly.
Rat Creek Fire: The fire's activity today was primarily in the interior with some spotting along the perimeter. Crews were continuing to remove hoses and mop-up. The cool temperatures and milder winds are helping to contain the fire
Today's action on the Pattengail Creek Fire saw rehabilitation efforts continue on the contingency line behind the homes along Bryant and Tie Creeks. Every effort is being taken to ensure that rain and snow doesn't adversely affect the streams in the area, and that fallen trees are removed before winter. Monitors continue to check on the fire daily.
Activity on the Rat Creek Fire was on the perimeter where crews were extinguishing hot spots detected on the northeastern flanks. Efforts on the northwestern corner were to contain the creeping fire in Shultz Saddle. Rehabilitation work continues on the safety zones and along dozer lines.
Weather: Sunday should continue the pattern of cool, moist air along with possibility of precipitation on the east. The night temperatures are forecasted to be in the high 20's. Monday and Tuesday are forecasted to be warmer and drier.
Wise River Community Meeting: The next Wise River Community Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 7:30 P.M. at the Community Center.
Changes in Fire Restrictions and Closures: Some National Forest lands near the Pattengail Creek Fire will reopen today. The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest announced that Forest Service land between Lacey and Pattengail Creeks, southwest of the town of Wise River, has been reopened. For public safety, some forest lands in the north half of the West Pioneer Mountains 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-Deer lodge National Forest. The east Pioneers, the south side of the west Pioneers, Anaconda Range and Big Hole will all be open in the Wise River District alone.
For more information on these fires check at http://www.inciweb.org/.
Dillon Interagency Dispatch Center
Covering the following counties:
Cooperating Agencies:
Beaverhead
USDI Bureau of Land Management
Jefferson (southern part)
Montana Dept. of Natural Resources & Conservation
Madison
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Silver Bow
National Park Service
Powell (southern part)
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Deer Lodge
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Granite
Beaverhead County, Madison County
USDA Forest Service
Dillon, Montana
NEWS RELEASE
For Release Immediately Contact:
Jack de Golia
Office: (406) 683-3984
Cell Phone: (406) 660-2347
FIRE RESTRICTIONS EASED
DILLON, MONT., Sept. 6, 2007-Thanks to rain, cooler weather, and the absence of human-caused fires, officials will ease fire restrictions in many parts of Southwest Montana the first thing on Saturday morning, September 8.
"Stage I" fire restrictions will then take effect and replace "Stage II" restrictions that have been in effect since mid August.
Stage I restrictions ban campfires outside of designated recreation sites and prohibit smoking except in buildings, vehicles, and areas cleared of vegetation in a three-foot diameter.
"For the average camper, this means in designated campgrounds you can again have a fire in the fire ring. It's still illegal to have warming fires out in the woods, under Stage I," Jack de Golia, spokesman for the Dillon Interagency Dispatch Center said.
The following areas are moving to Stage I:
·§ The entire Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Granite, Powell, Deer Lodge, Silver Bow, Jefferson, Madison, and Beaverhead counties
·§ State lands administered by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's Anaconda Unit in Powell, Granite, Deer Lodge and Silver Bow counties, except for lands in Powell County in the Blackfoot River drainage, which remain under Stage II restrictions.
·§ State lands administered by DNRC's Dillon Unit in Beaverhead County.
·§ Public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management's Butte and Dillon field offices in Madison, Beaverhead, Silver Bow, and Deer Lodge counties
·§ Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
·§ Big Hole National Battlefield
·§ Clark Canyon Reservoir and Barretts picnic area, both south of Dillon and administered by the Bureau of Reclamation
·§ Lands administered by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, in Beaverhead County, including Bannack State Park
·§ Beaverhead County
For more information on fire restrictions, go to this website:
http://www.mt.blm.gov/fire/restrictions/index.html or call the agency administering the lands that interest you.
Stage II restrictions--banning all open fires, smoking (except as noted above), and internal combustion engine operations from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.--remain in effect on lands under the jurisdiction of Madison County and on state lands in Madison County.
Stage II restrictions still apply to lands administered by BLM's Missoula Field Office in Granite and Powell counties.
In Jefferson County, Stage II restrictions remain on all federal, state, and county lands except for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
Stage II remains in effect in Jefferson County in the Helena National Forest, on lands administered by BLM's Butte Field Office, and on state lands under the jurisdiction of both Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the DNRC.
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