Tuesday, September 11, 2007 @8:00 PM
Incident: Pattengail Creek Wildland Fire
Released: 9/11/2007
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: 4 Acres: 15,297 Containment: 35%
The Pattengail Creek Fire: There is a Red Flag Warning forecast for tomorrow. The fire may display torching, group torching and more smoke than has been visible lately. The fire will be closely monitored. Rehab efforts on the fire today included a 10 person crew being flown up to the Stone Lake area to stack slash that was created when a helispot was cut to support the fire. The slash will be burned in the future when conditions are favorable. An excavator is now working rehab on the contingency line, creating water bars to prevent erosion and stacking slash for later disposal.
A Red Flag Warning is forecast for the area tomorrow from 2:00 PM-9:00 PM for westerly winds 15-25 mph and humidity readings in the teens and low 20s.
Wise River Community Meeting: The Wise River Community Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 7:30 P.M. at the Community Center.
One of the key topics for discussion will be the removal of structure protection equipment from private property. Forest Service and County representatives have agreed that it is time to remove the equipment that was deployed on private property for homeowner protection when the fire represented a potential threat. The Pattengail Creek Fire is now very unlikely to threaten private property. Landowners are urged to attend. Officials would like to schedule removal of the equipment with the landowners or their representatives.
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Fire Restrictions and Closures: 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.
Stage 1 fire restrictions are currently in effect. Campfires are banned outside of designated recreation sites and smoking is prohibited except in buildings, vehicles, and areas cleared of vegetation in a three-foot diameter.
Great hunting areas remain open around the Beaverhead-Deer lodge National Forest in spite of the limited closures. 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/.
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