Showers stem fire growth for now

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

Rains on some wildfires may not have put them out, but it at least cleared the air of smoke and haze in the valley. The rain and cooler temperatures early this week have also allowed firefighters to directly attack blazes in many cases, making for better containment lines on many of the area wildfires.

Glacier National Park has reopened trails and trailheads in the Marias Pass area that were closed because of the Skyland Fire, Glacier Park spokeswoman Melissa Wilson said.

The Skyland Fire has seen beneficial rain, with about .15 inches of rain falling on the blaze.

"And it's still raining here," Skyland Public Information Officer Kim Frasier said on Tuesday.

To date, Skyland has been the most expensive fire in the region, at $15 million. It burned just over 45,000 acres in a swath from the Skyland Road west of the Divide on the Flathead National Forest all the way to the prairie grasslands across the Heart Butte Cutoff Road on Blackfeet Tribal lands.

The largest fire in the region, however, saw virtually no rain. The Chippy Creek Fire was at 96,154 acres as of Tuesday — burning north of Plains. Firefighters have been able to directly attack it, however, because of high humidity and much cooler temperatures earlier in the week. Monday and Tuesday saw temperatures in the 60s. The weather is supposed to warm back up into the 80s by the weekend.

Stage II fire restrictions remain in effect. That means no campfires and no smoking outside a vehicle or enclosed area.

Smoke from all the fires here as well as fires in Idaho socked in the valley last Saturday and Sunday, making the air tough to breath.

The Black Cat Fire near Evaro caused the most problems last week, making a run that burned down several structures and homes in its wake. That fire has seen about a quarter inch of rain, slowing it significantly. It has burned about 11,000 acres.

All told, fires in the region, including those in the Bob Marshall, have totaled about 360,000 acres and have cost, not including the Black Cat Fire, about $67.7 million.

Fires in the Bob Marshall have closed access to many regions of the Wilderness complex. Folks still can't get in the south end because of the Railley Mountain Fire and the north and main eastside trailheads and areas are closed because of the Skyland, Fool Creek and Ahorn fires collectively.

Here's a look at some of the fires:

Ahorn: 30 miles west of Augusta, 50,950 acres; cost, $11.904 million.

Fool Creek: 30 miles west of Choteau, 58,000 acres; cost, $3.7 million.

Skyland Fire: Marias Pass and areas to the south, 45,215 acres; cost, $15 million

Conger Fire: 20 miles north of Ovando, 15,000 acres; cost, $466,000.

Railley Mountain: 13 miles northeast of Seeley Lake; cost, $32,000.

Brush Creek Fire: 15 miles west of Whitefish; cost, $11.3 million.

Chippy Creek Fire: About two miles west of Niarada; cost, $10.06 million.

Jocko Lakes Fires: About a half-mile west of Seeley Lake, 34,810 acres, including an 800-acre spot fire; cost, $14.7 million.