Smoke, haze drift in from Oregon fires

The Daily Inter Lake

Wind expected to increase Northwest Montana fire danger

A pall of smoke drifted over much of western Montana Thursday from distant fires in Oregon.

But the murky views of mountains around the Flathead Valley may not last long, with a windy weekend in the forecast that has potential to stir up local forest fires.

Rick Connell, fire management officer on the Flathead National Forest, said winds of 15-25 mph and gusts up to 35 mph are forecast for Saturday and Sunday in Northwest Montana.

"We'll have to see how it hits all these fires in Northwest Montana," Connell said.

The Ninko Creek fire, located about 40 miles north of Columbia Falls in the North Fork Flathead drainage, has been held to 35 acres. But the fire is burning on "extremely steep" terrain on the north side of Whale Creek, prompting a "confine and contain" strategy rather than outright suppression.

Two Hot Shot ground crews and a helicopter have been working on the fire and preparations have been made to respond to increased burning activity because of the weekend wind.

Wind may stir up the Gabe Creek fire, which has burned about 1,460 acres in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, 20 miles northeast of Seeley Lake. The fire was detected in early August and it has been mostly inactive over the last few days, Connell said.

On the Kootenai National Forest, the Lawrence Mountain Fire has burned about1,500 acres three miles west of Lake Koocanusa and about 15 miles north of Libby Dam. That fire was fairly active Thursday, burning through dead and downed wood. So far, it is being monitored and is not being actively suppressed, said Don Hammack, fire management officer on the Rexford Ranger District.

There is potential for the fire to grow because of dry conditions.

"This is the driest we've been so far this summer," Hammack said.

While the Flathead was smoky Thursday, it was worse elsewhere in western Montana. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued an advisory "hazardous' air quality conditions in the Bitterroot Valley because of the 4,830-acre Kootenai Creek Fire.