Incident: Conger Creek
Released: 8/14/2007
Yesterday's Activities:
The Conger Creek Fire added 1000 and is currently 8865 acres in size. The fire burned intensely in the 1988 Canyon Creek Burn with moderate rates of spread. Small columns developed in three distinct locations on the southern and eastern edges of the fire. The southeast corner of the fire backed steadily down to the confluence of the North Fork and Dry Fork, pushing upslope through heavy dead/down fuels and lodgepole regeneration toward Lake Mountain. A continuous, active edge of the fire stretched from the North Fork of the Blackfoot west to the ridgetop. It began to move slowly down the North Fork drainage on the north side of the river. The fire was much more active yesterday than the day before despite a more benign weather forecast. The National Weather Service speculates that smoke from fires in central Idaho prevented winds from mixing down in valley locations. Yesterday, with more sunshine, better mixing, and more wind, fire behavior increased considerably.
Weather and Fire Behavior forecast for today:
Sunny, areas of smoke., temperatures 78-83 degrees, humidity 13-18 percent, winds out of the southwest 5-10 MPH with gusts to 20 by late afternoon.
Today's Planned Actions:
Point protection in the Monture and North Fork Blackfoot drainages for cabins, bridges, and trailhead infrastructure. Aerial reconnaissance of southern and eastern flanks to monitor fire behavior.
Special Notices, Alerts & Restrictions:
The area closure begins at Triple Divide in Sec. 6, T18N, R10W, runs southeasterly along the Lolo National Forest boundary through Olson Peak to Mineral Hill, then crosses to North Fork Blackfoot Trailhead. From the trailhead the closure goes north up Lake Creek to East Spread Mountain, turns westerly to Spread Mountain and runs southwesterly along (and includes) Spread Creek Trail NFST #166 to Monture Trailhead. From Monture Trailhead the boundary runs north along (and includes) Center Ridge Trail NFST #246 to Lodgepole Trailhead. From Lodgepole Trailhead the boundary runs cross country to Nome Point, on to Morrell Mountain, then turns north to Pyramid Pass Trailhead, continues to Pyramid Peak, then follows the Lolo National Forest boundary easterly to Triple Divide.
