Red flag warning issued for next 36 hours; Doris Point puts up a plume

The next 36 hours promise to test fire lines as the National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning from this afternoon through noon Saturday.

The Ridge Fire outside Martin City was showing more activity Thursday afternoon, but it was the Doris Point Fire on the west side of the Hungry Horse Reservoir that was expected to start building a plume.

The Doris Point Fire isn’t close to homes and fire managers were planning on dropping water on it should it get down to the West Side Reservoir Road. They have done structure protection in and around the Doris Boat Launch and campground.

The projected high today is 100 and tomorrow is 89, with west winds 10 to 20 mph and gusts 25 to 35 mph with minimum humidities of 10 to 20%.. The wind was starting to pick up along the Hungry Horse Reservoir Thursday afternoon.

There is also an air quality alert because of the amount of smoke in the skies.

The Doris Point Fire is listed at 763 acres and the Ridge Fire is listed at 3,249 acres. Containment lines have held on the Ridge Fire, fire managers note.

Both fires were caused by lightning July 30.

People could begin to see columns from the fires as the haze lifts.

There is optimism in the forecast, as monsoonal moisture is expected Sunday night and then the remnants of Hurricane Hilary are expected to track into the Northern Rockies Monday into early Tuesday.

In short, we could see about a quarter-inch of rain, possibly more said National Weather Service meteorologist Corby Dickerson. Next week is also expected to be much cooler as well, which will help.