As fire explodes, the virtues of woods thinning emerge

Frustration, awe and relief. That might best describe the mood at the Spotted Bear Ranger Station as fires burned both to the north and south of the remote outpost on the north end of the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

The Bear Creek Fire struck awe Thursday afternoon, defying the best fire models as it burned more than 17,000 acres in just a few hours.

The fire had skunked on the slopes above the Bunker Creek Road for several days but appeared to be in check. But on Thursday afternoon it burned down the slope, crossed the Bunker Creek Road and got a head on the north slopes, explained incident commander Andy Huntsberger.

The north slopes in a normal year are wet, but in this historic dry year the fire took off and raced down the Bunker Creek Road and across the South Fork of the Flathead in a matter of hours.

Both private citizens along with Forest Service and fire crews were able to get about 70 head of stock out of the outfitter camps before the fire blew over. No animals or people were injured but three vehicles burned - two older trucks and a newer Subaru as well as some stock trailers, a tack shed, an outfitter tent and some hay, said public information officer Al Koss.

The fire is now more than 28,000 acres.

But despite the fire's intensity, it laid down when it got to the Meadow Creek Trailhead and campground, where the forest had been recently thinned. Other thinned areas along the Meadow Creek Road had spot fires, but were not actively burning. By contrast, the unthinned areas were a moonscape of fried trees. The Meadow Creek pack bridge was unscathed by the blaze, though a bridge in the upper end of Bunker Creek did burn.

Huntsberger said the fire defied the models. He said their fire analyst has run the scenario through computer models several times and it still doesn't do what Mother Nature cooked up.

There was also sense of frustration among Forest Service personnel from the Trail Creek Fire.

The fire, burning 9,500 acres north of the Spotted Bear River Road, had burned through timber sales - sales that would have likely been harvested by now had they not been held up by several years of litigation - litigation that the Forest Service prevailed on. The sales were designed to thin the forest and restore historic Ponderosa pine stands in the area that had been overcrowded by fire prone species like lodgepole pine.

Montana Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines agreed the federal government needs to rethink the way it pays for wildfires. They both support legislation that would treat catastrophic wildfires as natural disasters and pay for them from a different fund. Right now, the cost of wildfires is consuming more than half of the Forest Service budget.

Tester said that if the Forest Service had the funds to treat forests, fires like the ones we've been having would be less severe and projects would see less litigation. He also said that climate change is playing a role and Congress needs to get serious about addressing climate issues.

Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke has proposed legislation that would fast track some timber sales and allow categorical exclusions for some sales. It also has provisions that allow a natural disaster declaration for wildfires, which would allow the federal government to pay for fires from emergency relief funds.

But Tester, a Democrat, has said in the past that without other inclusions, like wilderness and recreation additions, a pure cut bill would be a tough sell in the Senate.

Daines, a fellow Republican, called Zinke's legislation a "good bill" but noted it would also have to find a way to get through the Senate.

He was bothered by the loss of timber sales from the Trail Creek Fire.

"We could have been making forests healthier and creating jobs," he said. "Instead we're breathing smoke."

But the Swan View Coalition, one of the environmental groups which challenged the Spotted Bear timber sales in federal court, claimed it didn't hold up the sales — the court never allowed an injunction to stop them. They claim the Forest Service could have gone ahead with the sales — at least legally.

The Bear Creek Fire is now listed at more than 28,700 acres and is moving to the east in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. It's about four miles from the Spotted Bear Ranger Station. Protecting the ranger station and nearby outfitter camps is the top priority for fire managers.

A host of trails, including the Spotted Bear River Road, Spotted Bear Campground and the Meadow Creek Road and campgrounds area are all closed.

Additional details were added to this story on Aug. 27.