Rainfall totals high, fires on hold

Rainfall totals in the area were impressive from Aug. 21 through Aug. 23.

According to the National Weather Service, West Glacier saw 3.84 inches of rain, Hungry Horse, just below the Hungry Horse Dam, saw 3 inches of rain and the Glacier Park International Airport recorded 1.44 inches of rain.

The Dam saw 0.8 inch of rain in just an hour from a thunderstorm. The precipitation was caused by the remnants of Hurricane Hilary, that came up through California and the Mountain West.

That’s more rain than June and July combined, as those two months totaled just 0.82 inches of rain at the airport.

After a warm, dry, weekend, up to another inch of rain was expected Tuesday into Wednesday in the Flathead, with even the possibility of snow on the highest peaks as the Hungry Horse News went to press. The local fires saw little growth over the past week.

After a chilly Wednesday, high temperatures should rebound to about 80 with sunny skies over the weekend. Fire crews on Monday had reached 76% containment on the Ridge Fire southeast of Hungry Horse. More than 400 firefighters remained assigned to the incident that was estimated at 3,665 acres in size.

The nearby Doris Point fire on the west side of Hungry Horse Reservoir was sized at 1,597 acres with 68% containment Monday.

Containment of the 8,100-acre Tin Solider Fire reached 81%, with crews working on creating fuel breaks.