Update
Incident: Sawmill Complex Wildland Fire
Released: 8/16/2007
Sawmill Complex
DATE: August 16, 2007 TIME: 8:00 am
INCIDENT COMMANDER: Glen McNitt
LEAD INFORMATION OFFICER: Pat Cross
PHONE: (406) 859-6003 6:00 am-10:00 pm
LOCATION: Rock Creek Drainage, 22 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
A community meeting is scheduled for Friday, August 17 at 7:00 pm at the Elkhorn Ranch Lodge.
RESOURCES:
PERSONNEL: 464 ENGINES: 28 WATER TENDERS: 11 HELICOPTERS: 5
TOTAL ACREAGE FOR COMPLEX: 41,705 INJURIES TO DATE: 4 COST TO DATE: $6,800,000
Wyman 2 fire, 28,109 acres: The fire was active till late in the evening. Crews are looking for hot spots on the northeast flank and are monitoring and holding the fire along Rock Creek. They will continue to patrol along Rock Creek as the fire backs down on the north and south flanks. On the southern end, crews are removing debris to reinforce a fuels reduction line along Stony Creek. They will continue mopup along Stony Creek Road. The Wyman 2 fire has reached the Bitterroot Divide on the west side.
Sawmill fire, 6,225 acres: The Sawmill fire crossed Sawmill Creek to the north on Tuesday. About 80 residences along Brewster Creek Road and Rock Creek Road from Brewster Creek to Babcock Creek were evacuated Wednesday morning because of the risk of fire moving downslope from this expansion. Structures at risk were assessed and measures taken to improve structure protection. Crews are positioned along Rock Creek Road and will patrol and hold the fire if it backs down. The fire has crossed Welcome Creek to the south and crews will try to contain that today.
Fisher Point fire, 7,371 acres: The fire crossed Ranch Creek and went east up to Sandstone Ridge above the Willow Creek drainage. Fire fighters are developing a plan to begin fuels mitigation work in the Willow Creek drainage. They will begin implementation of their structure protection plan today.
Extreme fire behavior may occur today as thunderstorms develop over the fires. Low relative humidity, erratic gusty winds, and lightning are contributing to this behavior. This may be an active fire day.
ROAD, TRAIL, & RIVER CLOSURES: Rock Creek Rd. from I-90 south to the intersection with state road 348. Residents have been evacuated along Brewster Creek Road and Rock Creek Road from Brewster Creek to Babcock Creek. An American Red Cross evacuation center is available for evacuees at the Bonner Elementary School. 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 in case of rapid fire expansion in that drainage. Recreational activity is being discouraged.
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 and other recreational activities from the confluence with Stony Creek to the Clark Fork near Clinton because of fire fighter activity. It is also closed from the Skalkaho Hwy Bridge downstream to the Windlass Bridge. This closure is due to increasing water temperature to protect the fishery.
NOTABLE ITEMS: Evacuees will be allowed to re-enter areas to recover items and check their property status as long as this is safe. Rock Creek Road may be closed at any time depending on fire conditions.
WEATHER: Thunderstorms may occur beginning later this morning. These may have erratic, gusty winds. Light to moderate moisture is expected with these storms. Temperatures will be in the 70s to low 80s on the ridges and in the 80s to low 90s in the valleys during the day. Winds will start to come from the south at 5-15 mph with possible gusts up to 15-20 mph. The chance of wetting rain is 10%.
Northern Rockies Large Fire Totals
Acreage
Personnel
CRW1
CRW2
HEL1
HEL2
HEL3
ENGS
OVHD
637,566
5,959
18
89
16
18
23
392
2,236
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/
