This evening, July 25, the annual meeting of the North Fork Preservation Association will be held at Sondreson Community Hall on the North Fork Road at Whale Creek.
At 7:30 pm Daniel Stiffarm of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, will speak on topics relating to Kootenai history. It should be a very engaging presentation.
The 7:30 pm program is preceded by a potluck dinner starting at 5pm and election of officers at 6:45 pm. Everyone is invited
Montana state and federal political leaders are getting worried about the possible expiration of the Land and Water Conservation Fund . . .
Montana’s top political officials are all declaring support for the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund as it nears a possible expiration in September.
Both Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester released announcements this week about the program’s reauthorization language in the Senate’s Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015. That bill is set for committee markup next week.
Also this week, Gov. Steve Bullock wrote the entire congressional delegation with a plea to save the 50-year-old program.
The Daily Inter Lake posted an excellent report on the progress being made by the Type I crew now in place to fight the Reynolds Creek Fire.
Highlights: There are 454 people and a lot of equipment, including some very big helicopters, involved in the effort. The fire is 10% contained, with the emphasis on safety, structure protection and keeping the fire from spotting beyond its current perimeter. The area of the active fire has been reduced to a little more than 3,000 acres . . .
The Reynolds Creek Fire at Glacier National Park is far from under control, but a reduction in total fire size, containment of 10 percent of its perimeter and an expected change in weather are providing a glimmer of hope to fire management officials.
It’s the only wildfire in the country currently being fought by an elite Type I Incident Management Team. Incident commander Greg Poncin, of Kalispell, said Friday that firefighters had brought the fire’s total area to slightly more than 3,000 acres, although the total burned acreage is significantly larger.
He said the primary challenges for his team are the rugged terrain and long-burning, heavy fuels, although the near-continuous daytime winds also haven’t made his job any easier.
The Reynolds Creek Fire in Glacier National Park is now up to 5,000 acres (maybe — there’s some debate), a Type I team is now in-place to fight the blaze and Sunday may provide some helpful weather . . .
The Reynolds Creek Fire in Glacier National Park grew another 1,000 acres on Thursday, but there may be favorable weather on the horizon this weekend.
The fire is burning from Reynolds Creek east to Two Dog Flats, about 3 miles from the Park’s eastern boundary.
The National Weather Service is predicting a widespread rain event Sunday evening with snow levels dropping to 8,000 feet over the Park and a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.
See also . . .
Elite firefighting team takes charge at Glacier Park wildfire (Missoulian)
Wind is enemy as firefighters await chance to prevail (Daily Inter Lake — paywall)
Posted to the Reynolds Creek Fire InciWeb site . . .
Public Meeting: Friday, July 24, 2015, at the St. Mary Lodge in the Great Bear Conference Room
A Public Meeting will be held in St. Mary in the Great Bear Conference Room at the St. Mary Lodge. The meeting will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Fire managers will provide an update on current status of the fire and be available to answer questions.
While we wait for the latest reports on the state of the Reynolds Creek Fire, here’s a good summary of the situation so far . . .
Fueled by high winds and dry conditions, a wildfire is chewing through heavy timber on the east side of Glacier National Park as firefighters and helicopters scramble to contain the blaze that is moving northeast along St. Mary Lake and near Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Roughly 200 personnel and six helicopters are battling the Reynolds Creek Fire, which is burning in a dense, rugged section of forest plagued by beetle kill and a region afflicted with drought conditions. The fire is not contained and remains at 4,000 acres, according to the last estimates from Thursday morning.
A red flag warning was issued Thursday for potentially dangerous weather conditions and extreme fire behavior. Forecasters predicted 20-30 mph wind gusts and low humidity that could cause the wildfire to quickly spread. Relief could arrive this weekend as cool, wet weather sweeps across Northwest Montana, including the high country in Glacier Park.
See also: Reynolds Creek Fire doubles in size, frying Rose Creek (Hungry Horse News)
The Reynolds Creek Fire is up to 4,000 acres now. Here is the official press release . . .
Extreme fire behavior continues on the Reynolds Creek Wildland Fire on the east side of Glacier National Park. Additional resources are arriving, including fire crews, helicopters, engines and an interagency incident command team. Due to windy conditions and extreme fire behavior, today’s suppression actions were limited to aerial water drops and some on-the-ground crew work.
The fire is moving northeast and is currently estimated to be 4,000 acres. It is located approximately 10 miles from the St. Mary Visitor Center along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Scattered light rain fell throughout the area, but strong winds and warm temperatures fueled additional acreage. The fire is moving quickly in dry, heavy timber with extreme spread potential. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning in effect through 9 p.m. tonight for the area. This warning means that critical fire weather conditions exist.
The fire management priorities are safety of public and fire-fighting personnel, protection of property and values at risk, and containment of the fire.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road is closed between the St. Mary entrance on the east side and Big Bend on the west side. The road closure is in response to the fire, firefighter and visitor safety, fire response activities, and park personnel priorities. The duration of the road closure is unknown.
Several evacuations in and around the St. Mary Visitor Center have been implemented as precautionary measures. Glacier County Sheriff’s Office and Blackfeet Law Enforcement have evacuated the west side of Lower St. Mary Lake and may continue with evacuations on the East shore of Lower St. Mary Lake. The townsite of St. Mary is being evaluated for possible evacuation. The National Park Service evacuated the employee housing area and administrative area early this evening.
Within the park, the St. Mary Campground was evacuated this morning, and the Rising Sun Motor Inn, operated by Glacier National Park Lodges, and the Rising Sun Campground were evacuated Tuesday evening. The St. Mary Visitor Center closed to the public at 12 p.m. today and will be used as a fire staging area. The duration of the closure is unknown at this time.
Several backpackers in the vicinity of the fire were located and found to be safe. Additional backpackers were located and will be escorted safely from the area. Park rangers and personnel will continue to search for backcountry hikers in the area to evacuate them and direct them to safety.
Today several visitors were able to retrieve their vehicles that were left along the Going-to-the-Sun Road yesterday due to fire activity in the area. One vehicle was consumed by the fire.
The historic Baring Creek Cabin, a National Park Service backcountry cabin, was lost due to the fire. No other structures have been burned, and no injuries have been reported.
All interpretive programs in the St. Mary Valley are cancelled until further notice. There is a temporary flight restriction over the fire area.
Resources from Flathead National Forest, Glacier County, East Glacier, Babb, St Mary, Cutbank, Evergreen, and West Valley Fire Departments, Blackfeet Fire Management, Montana Department of Natural Resources, and Flathead County are assisting Glacier National Park. Glacier County and State of Montana Disaster Emergency Services are also assisting.
Fire information phone lines have been established at 406-732-7791 and 406-732-7790. An email account has also been established for fire-related inquiries at reynoldscreekfire@gmail.com. The Inciweb website, http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/, is another source of fire information for the Reynolds Creek Wildland Fire.
The fire was first reported at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday and was located near Grizzly Point, approximately six miles east of Logan Pass. Park dispatch received numerous reports of the fire from shuttle bus drivers, Glacier Boat Company employees, park employees and visitors.
Here’s a pretty interesting article posted to the Flathead Beacon that looks back at the history of wildfires in Glacier National Park . . .
Wildfires have played a prominent role in transforming the landscape of Glacier National Park throughout its 105-year history.
The Reynolds Creek Fire serves as the latest reminder of that incendiary influence as it burns over 2,000 acres in the St. Mary area. It’s the largest fire in the park since 2006, when the Red Eagle Fire scorched 34,000 acres.
The barren landscape along Lake McDonald, remnants of the 2003 Roberts Fire, which burned 57,570 acres in one summer, is perhaps the most visible example of fire’s powerful force and lasting effect. The fire was one of six massive blazes that burned more than 136,000 acres of land in Glacier that year, more than 13 percent of the preserve’s 1 million acres.
“The 2003 season is the pinnacle,” said Dennis Divoky, fire ecologist for the park.
But the fires of 2003 are only one chapter in the park’s long history shaped by fire and ash.
A pretty neat story about the evacuation of the Rising Sun Motor Lodge due to the Reynolds Creek Fire . . .
Staff and guests at Rising Sun Motor Inn were able evacuate in about 15 minutes Tuesday as the Reynolds Creek Fire blossomed in Glacier National Park.
Glacier Park Lodges general manager Marc Ducharme said about 60 employees were loaded onto red buses and taken out of the valley. About 150 guests were also evacuated, given refunds for their rooms and a list of other hotels they could stay at in the area.
“It took about 15 minutes,” he said.
Glacier National Park representatives announced this evening that the historic Baring Creek Cabin, a National Park Service backcountry cabin, was lost due to the Reynolds Creek Fire. No other structures have been burned and no injuries have been reported.
The fire is now estimated to cover 4,000 acres, more than six square miles.