Lightning sparks more blazes in Bob Marshall, and a remote one in Glacier Park
A hiker looks over the Trilobite Range in the Bob Marshall Wilderness as skies threaten thunderstorms on Friday, Aug. 12. The Dean Creek Fire would sprout up the next day just west of where this photo was taken. (Chris Peterson photo)
Hungry Horse News
A series of thunderstorms on Friday have sparked new fires in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and one remote fire in Glacier National Park in the Quartz drainage.
The Cannon Fire in the Bob Marshall is burning southwest of Sunburst Lake near Cannon Creek and is about 765 acres.
Prevailing winds could push it toward Picture Ridge, which has previously burned by fire, which could limit its spread. The Dean Creek Fire is burning about 10 acres in Dean Creek, about three miles north of the Spotted Bear River, though it has potential to spread significantly.
The Spotted Bear River is one of the main routes into the wilderness.
Another Bob Marshall fire, the Highrock Fire, is burning on the south facing slope near the top of the ridge that divides Highrock Creek from Little Salmon Creek.
Closures are expected to be coming with the fire activity, including a closure of the Dean Creek drainage.
In Glacier the Quartz fire is burning in a very remote area of the upper Quartz Creek drainage below Vulture Peak. It was reported by Cyclone Lookout at 10:19 am. Aug. 14. The fire had grown to 8 acres by Monday morning. There were no closures as a result of the fire.
The Sutton Fire in the Salish Range southeast of Eureka is about 100 acres. It is visible from Highway 93 west of Stryker. There are closures near the fire.
The fire danger has been ramped up to very high in Flathead County and extreme in Sanders County.
While the thunderstorms Aug. 12 came with some wetting rain, temperatures rebounded almost immediately the next day to near 90 with high winds in the afternoon.
The month of August, outside of the thunderstorm, has seen no appreciable rain. At the Glacier Park International Airport, the storm dropped .08 inch of rain.
Meanwhile, the largest fire in the area, the Elmo 2 fire near Flathead Lake, is now listed at 78% contained.
Lake Mary Ronan State Park reopened last week.
Evacuation orders were also lifted for many residents along Lake Mary Ronan Road west of Dayton Creek Road. The area remains under pre-evacuation warning and open to residents and guests only. Speed limits on Lake Mary Ronan Road are reduced to 35 miles per hour. Camp Tuffit-West Shore Road remains under evacuation order and is closed to all traffic.
At one point, the 21,000-plus acre Elmo 2 Fire had more than 600 firefighters on it, but crews have been released as the fire has been brought under far greater control.
It burned eight structures, including two homes.
Crews continue to hit hot spots and douse burning stumps and other areas that are still smoldering.
The Weasel Fire along the U.S.- Canada border remains active, though it hasn’t grown much over the past week.
An area closure is effect near the fire from road Road 114A west to Road 339 north of Road 114 is still in effect.
Road 114 (the Trail Creek Road) remains open.
The Weasel Fire is about 2,100 acres.
Another fire is also burning west of Polson. The Garceau Fire is 1,500 acres in a remote area. It currently is not threatening homes or structures as it burns in grass and timber.
The weather this week is expected to be hot and dry again, with highs in the mid to upper 90s with no rain in sight.
For continued fire information visit inciweb.org.