Lightning sparks fire near town

A lightning storm that passed through Whitefish on Friday is believed to have sparked a small wildfire that was spotted in the Whitefish Hills late Sunday afternoon.

An alert neighbor spotted smoke at about 5:30 p.m. and called 911. Whitefish Fire Department and state Department of Natural Resource and Conservation fire crews quickly responded and completely extinguished the blaze by 9:30 p.m. The fire occurred in the woods a few hundred yards inside the U.S. 93 West entrance to Whitefish Hills. It was between a half-acre and 1.5 acres in size.

There were no reported injuries or damage to structures.

Fire officials confirmed that the cause of the fire was lightning, most likely from a storm that passed through the area several days earlier.

Jeremy Pries, Fire Program Manager with DNRC said that western Montana is now entering a peak period for wildfires and urged residents to be especially vigilant and careful.

“It’s most common for lightning strikes to smolder for three to seven days before igniting,” Pries said. “In extreme cases, it can take up to two weeks.

Pries advises residents to call authorities if smoke is spotted in the woods this time of year.

“Being able to respond quickly is critical to containing a fire before it gets out of control,” he said. “Our goal is always a quick and aggressive initial attack, and the first step in this process is receiving the report early.”

The National Weather Service in Missoula issued a red flag warning on Monday for most of Northwest Montana due to hot and dry conditions. Humidity levels were expected to dip as low as 18 percent with gust of 30 mph predicted. High temperatures this week could be in the 90s and upper 80s through Sunday.

Pries said with low humidity and wind, a fire can spread quickly.

According to Jennifer Mayberry, executive director of FireSafe Montana, a group that keeps track of wildfires throughout Montana, nearly 80 percent of all wildfires this year have been started by lightning strikes.

The Elbow Complex wildfire currently burning on the eastern portion of the Flathead National Forest and into Lewis & Clark National Forest is comprised of four different lightning ignitions and has burned a total of 15,666 acres as of Monday.

The 3,333 acre Prisoner Lake Fire continues to burn in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The wildfire was detected July 30 and is believed to be lightning caused.

Two other wildfires were spotted Monday. The Gorge Fire about 10 miles northeast of Condon in the Bob is less than a tenth of an acre. The other start is near Dry Lake in the Swan Lake Ranger District.

FireSafe Montana encourages communities to become organized to better reduce and manage risks posed by wildfires, and to learn how to create ‘defensible space’ around homes situated in the forest. For more information, go online to www.wafsc.com and www.firesafemt.org.