News Release 08/19/07 8:00am MT
Incident: Skyland Wildland Fire
Released: 8/19/2007
- Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007 · 8 a.m. -
Quick Fire Facts
Location
32 miles ESE of Kalispell, MT
Approximate Size
43,408 acres
Increase since last update
2,360 acres
Fire Containment
52%
Start Date
July 23, 2007 - 4:30 pm
Cause
Lightning
Incident Commander
Jeff Pendleton, PNW Team 3
Resources on the Fire
9 crews
6 helicopters
1 dozer
6 water tenders
11 engines
Total Personnel
505
Est. Containment Date
unknown
Cooperating Agencies
USFS
NPS
BIA
Blackfeet Tribe
Montana DNRC
Landowners
USFS
Blackfeet Tribe
Private
Yesterday's Activities:
A heavy smoke inversion held down fire activity until late in the afternoon allowing hand crews to continue to strengthen firelines on the western, northern, and eastern perimeters. Southeast winds aided firefighters in burnout operations on the southern flank in the vicinity of the Badger Guard Station.Weather and Fire Behavior Forecast for Today:
Cooler temperatures and higher humidity will bring a 30 percent chance of showers or thundershowers. However, wind speeds are forecasted at ridge tops at 50-60 mph creating a Red Flag warning for today. Winds will be westerly raising concerns for increased easterly fire spread in the Badger Creek drainage. Relative humidity will be 20-25% in the valleys, and at 25 to 30% above 6000 feet. Temperatures will reach highs in the mid- 70's.
Today's Planned Actions:
Work efforts will continue on rehabilitation and mop-up on the western, northern, and eastern flanks. Depending on wind and fire activity, crews will patrol and mop-up in the Badger Creek area.
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 in effect for Little Badger, 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.
Prepared by: Information Section, PNW Incident Management Team 3 and approved by the Bob Marshall Joint Fire Information Center.
