News Release 08/16/07 8:00am MT
Incident: Skyland Wildland Fire
Released: 8/16/2007
Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007 · 8 a.m.
Quick Fire Facts
Location
32 miles ESE of Kalispell, MT
Approximate Size
40,704 acres
Increase since last update
156
Fire Containment
60%
Start Date
July 23, 2007 - 4:30 pm
Cause
Lightning
Incident Commander
Jeff Pendleton, PNW Team 3
Resources on the Fire
16 crews
5 helicopters
1 dozer
9 water tenders
21 engines
Total Personnel
720
Est. Containment Date
unknown
Cooperating Agencies
USFS
NPS
BIA
Blackfeet Tribe
Montana DNRC
Landowners
USFS
Blackfeet Tribe
Private
Yesterday's Activities:
Winds from the east and northeast spurred active fire activity inside the fireline. Hand crews continue to build line on the southern side of the fire. Approximately 40 head of cattle were herded south away from the fire to facilitate burnout operations.
Weather and Fire Behavior Forecast for Today:
Thursday will be partly cloudy with a 20% chance of dry, late afternoon thunderstorms. Relative humidity will be 20 to 25% in the valleys, and 25 to 30% above 6000 feet. Moderate southwest winds in the morning may turn to southeast by the afternoon. Continued scorching with occasional short duration crown fires, are expected in wind exposed areas inside the fireline.
Today's Planned Actions:
Cattle will continue to be rounded up and removed from the southern side of the fire. Work will continue on rehabilitation efforts on the western and eastern flanks. Crews will continue with mop-up work.
Special Notices, Alerts, Restrictions & Evacuation Levels:
All entrances to Glacier National Park are open. U.S. Hwy 2 remains open with a speed restriction in the fire area, and short delays when helicopters fly over the highway. Visit www.nps.gov/glac for more information.
For fire restrictions, visit www.mt.blm.gov/fire/restrictions. Much of the Rocky Mountain Ranger District is closed to public use. There are closures in the Hungry Horse Ranger District as well.
Evacuation Level 1 (notification) is still in effect for Little Badger, and Evacuation Level 2 (preparation) is in effect for the U.S. Hwy. 2 Corridor and Glacier Acres.
Visit http://www.inciweb.org/ and click on Skyland Fire for details, or call the ranger districts - Hungry Horse (406) 387-3800; Rocky Mountain (406) 466-5341.
For information on other fires in western Montana visit the Bob Marshall Joint Fire Information Center website listed in the Cooperators Section.
Prepared by: Information Section, PNW Incident Management Team 3
