Incident: Jocko Lakes
Released: 9/15/2007
Fire flared a bit on all incidents around Seeley Lake Friday afternoon. Small plumes rose from other fires east of town. On the Jocko Lakes fire, uncontained sections of line near the Jocko divide were defended by hard work from the Deer Lodge and Greyback crews, and water from above. Three separate hot zones remain of uncontained line, but managers are developing plans to contain each one.
Flames along a steep ridge north of Jocko Lakes brought two helicopters to stop the fire from moving. A heavy Skycrane helicopter, which drops 200 gallons at a shot, joins the fire Saturday to quench that area. "This town doesn't need another day of growing fire," said Operations Chief Steve Underwood. Friday, two smokejumpers worked in the harsh ridge country to plan Saturday's efforts.
"With the amount of equipment we have, we're getting a lot done fast" in rehabilitation work, said Group Supervisor Dean Berger. Up to sixteen excavators are converging from the north and west toward the southeast corner of the fire as they remove firelines from the fire's cold edges. 166 personnel are working.
Incident Commander Glenn McNitt's team begins to transition with the DNRC team at noon Saturday. McNitt's team was the first team brought to work on the Jocko Lakes fire, and they confronted the fire's run Saturday, August 4th, as roaring winds pushed fire toward Seeley Lake. They have managed 100,000 acres of fire in the last month. McNitt's team members were "the unsung heroes of the whole incident," said Frank Maradeo, Chief of the Seeley Lake Rural Fire Department. "Their efforts helped slow the rapid growth of the fire."
Citizens will see yet more smokes within the fire in hot clear weather Saturday.
WEATHER: Temperature may climb to 85 degrees Saturday and 80 degrees Sunday with humidities below 15% in the valleys each day. Conditions are actually slightly cooler and moister up on the fire. Cloudier weather returns Monday for a few days.
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.
