Daily Update for August 12, 2007
Incident: Sawmill Complex Wildland Fire
Released: 8/12/2007
Sawmill Complex
DATE: August 12, 2007 TIME: 8:00 am
INCIDENT COMMANDER: Tom Heintz
LEAD INFORMATION OFFICER: Pat McKelvey
PHONE: (406) 859-6003 6:00 am-10:00 pm
LOCATION: Rock Creek Drainage, 25 miles SE of Missoula, MT
JURISDICTION: Lolo National Forest, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
AGENCIES: Clinton RFD, Lolo National Forest, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, MT-DNRC, Missoula County, Granite County, Montana Dept of Military Affairs, NOAA, Anaconda Job Corps, Georgetown VFD, Phillipsburg VFD
RESOURCES:
PERSONNEL: 516 ENGINES: 38 WATER TENDERS: 14 HELICOPTERS: 6
TOTAL ACREAGE FOR COMPLEX: 22, 850 INJURIES TO DATE: 3 COST TO DATE: $5,000,000
A RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR TODAY
Today's acreage calculations are based on the infrared verification from last nights flight.
Wyman 2 fire, 16,970 acres: The fire was very active on the Northeast edge with spotting and running northwesterly along Rock Cr, in the Green Mountain area. Firefighters reported observing flame lengths over 200 feet high. The fire behavior is described as moderately active on the other three sides of the fire, and was characterized as "a good day for the most part." As always, spotting from the fire remains a concern in the strategy to keep this fire west of Rock Cr. We did discover a small spot fire in the Wild Rose area yesterday. A timing of the spots from the time they are noticed until they begin to "puff up" is about 15 minutes, according to the fire behavior analyst. The Stony Cr line was improved again yesterday, and the hauling of the cut trees will continue today if the fire situation allows it. One resident of the area remains evacuated due to fire activity.
Sawmill fire, 3,270 acres: Fire activity yesterday was pretty much a continuation of what we have been seeing. Retardant and helicopter bucket drops were used in Sawmill gulch to slow the fire progression. This fire recorded only a trace of precipitation and returned to "dusty" conditions fairly rapidly. This fire is primarily reactive to the daily upslope winds as it has been sheltered from the higher winds by the topography. Controlled access points will remain in place for all except residents of the area. Lower Rock Creek homeowners are providing information for the residents of that area at 406-825-2120.
Fisher Point fire, 2,610 acres: No crews were assigned to this fire yesterday. Although it was monitored by air, and the south edge of the fire was worked by helicopter water drops to cool the edge. Operations and Information staff continue working in the Willow Creek area talking with residents about the fire and explaining the strategy to be used should this fire move in their direction.
The flight over the area yesterday found a new lightning ignited fire in the area of Hogback Point. We initial attacked it with heli-repellers. The fire got to about ¼ acre, but is being called contained with suppression line all around it.
Today is considered a holding day on all of these fires based on the predicted weather with the Red Flag warning being issued by the National Weather Service. Firefighters are trained on two primary basics;
10 Standard Firefighting Orders; and 18 Watch out situations. Today they were reminded of 3 of these "watch out situations": Watch Out Situation #4 - Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behavior;
Watch Out Situation #14 - Weather becoming hotter and dryer; and Watch Out Situation #15 - Wind increases or changes direction. Firefighter and public safety is first, last, and always with our fire managers.
(continued)
ROAD, TRAIL, & RIVER CLOSURES: Rock Creek Rd. beginning at the intersection of I-90, south to the intersection with state road 348. Only residents and area landowners are allowed access beyond the control points. Stony Creek Rd. is also closed. The closure is being enforced to all but local residents and firefighting traffic. The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest has closed portions of the Goose Gulch Rd. #4325, Otter Creek Rd. #8419, Miners Gulch Rd. #5156, and Upper Creek Rd. #88. These roads are closed to all motorized vehicles, foot, bicycle, and horse activities for public safety due to fire activity. The Montana National Guard is assisting with roadblocks and security efforts. The Skalkaho Road is not affected by these closures. The Willow Creek road is open to residents but access is being controlled for informational purposes in case of rapid fire expansion in that drainage. Recreational activity is being discouraged due to current and potential fire activity.
Trail #313 (Sapphire Divide) from the Skalkaho road to Sawmill Saddle has been closed.
Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks has closed a portion of Rock Creek to fishing. It is closed from the Skalkaho Hwy bridge downstream to the Windlass Bridge. This closure is not due to fire activity.
SPECIAL CONCERNS: Residents displaced by the evacuation orders due to threatening fire activity. Those who have evacuated will be allowed to re-enter the areas to recover items and check their property status for as long as this is safe. Personnel at the road closures will advise them of the time when they will need to be back out of the area. The area contains archeological and historical sites, which are being identified; the Rock Creek fishery; the Welcome Creek Wilderness; and a wilderness study area.
WEATHER: This morning the low temperature at the West Fork base camp was 25.6 degrees. Temperatures are expected to be higher than yesterday, humidity lower, and Southwest winds at 10-15 mph with gusts to 30-35 mph on the ridgetops. That is the basis for the issuance of the Red Flag Warning over a large portion of the State of Montana and Idaho.
Additional national fire information can be found at http://www.inciweb.org/ or the Lolo National Forest Website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/lolo/
