From the Thursday, August 24, 2006 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Two fires continued to grow Wednesday on the Flathead National Forest, while a third has emerged near Hubbart Reservoir southwest of Kalispell.
By late afternoon, the Sun Dog fire was putting off a smoke column visible from the North Fork Flathead drainage. A Wednesday estimate of 90 acres was increased to 200 to 250 acres by late afternoon, when the fire was putting off a smoke column that was visible from the Flathead Valley. It was eerily similar to scenes from the 2001 Moose fire, which burned for weeks, scorching more than 70,000 acres in the North Fork.
Fire information officer Shannon Downey said there was growth on the fire late in the afternoon that is not reflected in the latest size-up.
The fire was detected Monday high on the Whitefish Divide about 20 miles northwest of Columbia Falls. It is positioned to move east toward the Coal Creek state forest. The fire has been fought mainly with helicopters. But the 20-person Helena Hot Shots started digging lines Tuesday night, and a Type II incident command team Wednesday morning assumed management of the fire from the Flathead forest.
A fire camp is being set up at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. property just north of Columbia Falls, roughly 180 people are assigned to the fire, most of them arriving Wednesday.
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