Daily Update for August 25, 2007
Incident: Skyland Wildland Fire
Released: 8/25/2007
Yesterday's Activities:
Quick Fire Facts
Location
32 miles ESE of Kalispell, MT-Skyland Road, 3 miles south of Marias Pass
Approximate Size
45,760 acres
Increase since last update
545 acres (due to
infrared flight mapping)
Fire Containment
70%
Start Date
July 23, 2007 - 4:30 pm
Cause
Lightning
Incident Commander
Tom Heintz
Resources on the Fire
11 crews
4 helicopters
1 dozer
3 water tenders
11 engines
Total Personnel
457
Est. Containment Date
unknown
Cooperating Agencies
USFS
NPS
BIA
Blackfeet Tribe
Montana DNRC
Landowners
USFS
Blackfeet Tribe
Private
Mop-up work continued on the north side of the fire. Crews focused on working any hot spots within the perimeter. Mop-up and rehabilitation of the suppression lines on the northeast, north and northwest flanks of the fire was also continued. Crews in the Badger Cabin area continued to work on creating direct and indirect line to the east and west.
Weather and Fire Behavior Forecast for Today:
A Red Flag warning is in effect from 1 to 9 pm in the Skyland fire area. A cold front will move through early Sunday morning and the winds will become gusty at 25-30 mph, out of the southwest this afternoon ahead of the front. The relative humidity will be in the mid to upper teens during the late afternoon. The gusty winds and low relative humidity should continue into the evening hours.
Today's Planned Actions:
Today will be a telling day on the fire due to the predicted weather. Suppression lines have been improved throughout this week resulting in a cold fire perimeter. Rehabilitation and mop-up operations will continue in the northern divisions of the fire. Four Alaskan crews will fly home today.
U.S. Hwy 2 remains open with a speed restriction in the fire area. All entrances to the Glacier National Park are open. 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.
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.
