Thursday Sept. 13th 9:30 PM Update -- Work Progresses, Some Smoke Rises
Incident: Jocko Lakes Wildland Fire
Released: 9/14/2007
Although smoke rose again Thursday from the north of the Jocko River, the fire posed no threat to any houses or structures. The smoke comes entirely from within the edges of the fire.
"It's no issue for the folks in town at all," said Steve Underwood, Operations Chief, who was on the scene. "There's a lot of burned area around it, to the east."
"We had a real good day," said Underwood. "We got a lot of work done." The fire's Deer Lodge and Greyback hand crews contained Wednesday's 10 acre spot fire in rugged terrain on the far western edge of the fire, west of First Creek. Engines were mopping up the spot Thursday.
Excavators finish pinching off another uncontained section of line Friday on the fire's west side. Managers decided they could safely use crews to build fireline on the west edge of the fire, southwest of the Jocko divide in the headwaters of Jocko Creek. More equipment and crews have been ordered as managers prepare to deal with these last remnants of uncontained fireline.
Fellers removing snags from roadways have cleared Finley Creek and are moving into Placid Creek.
As the Montana Department of Natural Resources team enters its third week managing both suppression and rehabilitation of the Jocko Lakes fire, supervisory personnel will be returning home. Agency administrators have agreed to bring one more incident management team to the Jocko Lakes fire, to entirely conclude work still waiting on the fireline.
Citizens can expect to see more smokes within the fire in hot clear weather Friday and Saturday. Wednesday, smoke in western Montana came from fires in central Idaho, but north winds cleared local skies by Thursday morning.
WEATHER: East winds Thursday evening swing from the southwest Friday. Sunny skies will reach 80 degrees in the valleys Friday with humidities dropping as low as 11%. Temperature may climb to 85 degrees Saturday.
COOPERATING AGENCIES & PARTNERS: Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation; the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Lolo National Forest; Missoula County Sheriff's Office; Seeley Lake Fire Department; Missoula Rural Fire; Missoula County; Montana Department of Transportation; Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks; National Weather Service.
