Daily Update for August 13, 2007
Incident: Sawmill Complex Wildland Fire
Released: 8/13/2007
Sawmill Complex
DATE: August 13, 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, Philipsburg VFD
RESOURCES:
PERSONNEL: 567 ENGINES: 38 WATER TENDERS: 14 HELICOPTERS: 6
TOTAL ACREAGE FOR COMPLEX: 29,820 INJURIES TO DATE: 4 COST TO DATE: $5,500,000
THIS WILL BE THE LAST DAILY FACT SHEET FROM THE HEINTZ TEAM FOR THIS COMPLEX
A TRANSITION OF FIRE MANAGEMENT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW.
THE NORTHERN ROCKIES TEAM HEADED BY GLEN MCNITT WILL ASSUME MANAGEMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 6 A.M OPERATIONAL PERIOD TUESDAY.
Today's acreage calculations are based on the infrared verification from last night's flight.
Wyman 2 fire, 22,440 acres: The fire continued to expand with the major growth on the Northeast and Western flanks. Spotting and running northwesterly along Rock Cr was again the most active. Spots over Rock Cr were observed on the Hogback Ridge and in the creek bottom. Material up to 8 inch in length and ¼ inch in diameter were being lofted up to 1/3 of a mile during yesterdays burning period. Firefighters believe that all the spots were caught and suppression line was in place on them this morning. Crews will do a "grid" search of these areas today looking for any that were not found yesterday.
The Stony Cr fuel reduction line was holding yesterday, and improvement of that line will continue. Westward movement did put the fire over the Sapphire divide yesterday on the Bitterroot side.
Sawmill fire, 4,020 acres: The over 100 firefighters working this fire have described the fire activity yesterday as pretty much a continuation of what we have been seeing. The situation is stable and the area is heavily smoked in this morning. There is a hardened containment line from Welcome Cr to Sawmill Cr. Firefighters have approximately 1.5 miles of hose lay in Sawmill Cr. Another 1,800 feet extends into Welcome Cr. 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. A community meeting is scheduled for 7:00 pm tonight at the Elkhorn Ranch Lodge. Staff from the McNitt Incident Management Team will be introduced.
Fisher Point fire, 3,360 acres: This fire was very active on the North end, and the fire is approaching the Ranch Cr drainage. If visibility allows the helicopter water bucket drops, they will once again be used to slow the fire progression.
(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 Willow 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 33 degrees. Weather is expected to be Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Widespread smoke will remain, with the winds becoming west southwest between 7 and 10 mph with gusts to 20 mph after 11 a.m. Humidity will be in the 10%-17% range.
Avoid breathing smoke. If you are healthy, you are usually not at risk from limited amounts of smoke exposure, but extended amounts of smoke exposure can even affect healthy people. The smoke that is being experienced in this area is also coming from the numerous fires to the west.
Northern Rockies Large Fire Totals
Acreage
Personnel
CRW1
CRW2
HEL1
HEL2
HEL3
ENGS
OVHD
564,223
5,747
27
73
17
17
23
325
2,171
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/
