Here is the official Thursday evening report on the status of the Glacier Rim Fire:

Release Date: Jul 2, 2015

The Glacier Rim Fire is burning on the Glacier View Ranger District, in the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park. This fire is being managed with full suppression tactics, with fire fighter and public safety as a priority.

Fire Summary:
Location: North of Columbia Falls, MT, approximately 11.5 miles up the North Fork Road, in the vicinity of Glacier Rim.

Current Status: The Glacier Rim Fire started on June 27, 2015. The fire is burning in the old 2003 Robert Fire burned area. The fuels are mixed heavy dead timber and brush, with significant snag hazard. The fire is primarily located west of the North Fork Road, though it did spot across the North Fork River into Glacier National Park.

Yesterday, Wednesday July 1, the fire continued to burn hot within the interior of the established perimeter. Fire lines built during the previous days were reinforced. Sprinklers were set up in multiple locations including in the steep northern edge of the fire to maintain the perimeter of the fire. The helicopters continued cooling hot spots along the fire line. All known spot fires within Glacier National Park are dead out. Firefighter efforts are challenged due to safety concerns involving danger of large snags originally burned in the Robert Fire of 2003.

Today, Thursday July 2, firefighters will continue to reinforce fire lines. Water pumps and sprinkler systems will be used to cool the edges of the fire and mop up. Helicopters will continue to work hotspots and areas that flare up. Some resources are being released from the fire. The temperatures and wind speeds are expected to increase on the fire.

Unseasonably warm weather and extremely dry fuel conditions are driving fire behavior in these previously burned fuels. Two residences directly adjacent to the fire voluntarily chose to leave. No evacuation orders have been issued by the county.

The following resources are assigned to the fire: two 20-person fire crews and several other smaller modules of firefighters, four engines, water tenders, three helicopters, a mix of heavy equipment including a dozer, a feller-buncher, and an excavator, a local type 3 Incident Management Team composed of Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, Flathead County, and MT State Department of Natural Resources, for a total of 85 personnel.

SPECIAL MESSSAGE: Stage 1 Fire restrictions will go into effect for all of Northwest Montana on Friday, July 3, 2015.

FOR YOUR SAFETY AND THE FIREFIGHTERS SAFETY DO NOT STOP IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN THE FIRE AREA. Vehicles driving on the North Fork Road are asked to not stop in the fire area. River floaters on the river are asked to not stop in the fire area. Helicopters are working over head to shuttle fire fighters to the fire as well as performing water drops. The helicopters cannot fly overhead if people are stopped below.
Fire Information: (406) 387-3867
Email: glacierrimfire@gmail.com
Web: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4336

Here is the official Wednesday evening report on the status of the Glacier Rim Fire:

Release Date: Jul 1, 2015

The Glacier Rim Fire is burning on the Glacier View Ranger District, in the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park. This fire is being managed with full suppression tactics, with fire fighter and public safety as a priority.

Fire Summary:
Location: North of Columbia Falls, MT approximately 11.5 miles up the North Fork Road in the vicinity of Glacier Rim.

Detected: June 27, 2015  Cause: Human caused, under investigation.

Legal Description: SE, Section 27,T32N, R20W; Lat/Long: Lat. 48 30′ 9″ North, Long. 114 8′ 39″

Current Size: 85 acres  Containment: 35%

Current Status: The Glacier Rim Fire started on June 27, 2015, at approximately 1 p.m. The fire is burning in the old 2003 Robert Fire burned area. The fuels are mixed heavy dead timber and brush, with significant snag hazard. The fire is primarily located west of the North Fork Road, though it has spotted across the North Fork River in to Glacier National Park.

Yesterday, Tuesday June 30, firefighters continued to build line around the fire and reinforce already established lines. Firefighters continued to work towards total line containment with helicopters and heavy equipment assistance. The spot fires within the park were mopped up and rehabbed by the crew working there.

Today, Wednesday July 1, the fire continues to burn hot within the interior of the established perimeter. A small area on the north edge of the fire within Canyon Creek is still not contained due to steep terrain and heavy timber; the efforts today include setting up sprinklers along the north edge of fire and cooling the hot spots within the interior of the fire with helicopters. Now that the spot fires within Glacier National Park are dead out, firefighters are being pulled later this evening and reassigned to the main fire. Firefighter efforts are challenged due to safety concerns involving extreme danger of large snags and falling dead trees originally burned in the Robert Fire of 2003.

Unseasonably warm weather and extremely dry fuel conditions are driving fire behavior in these previously burned fuels. Two residences directly adjacent to the fire voluntarily chose to leave. No evacuation orders have been issued by the county.

The following resources are assigned to the fire: three 20-person fire crews and several other smaller modules of firefighters, two engines, three water tenders, three helicopters, a mix of heavy equipment including a dozer, two feller-bunchers, a grappel skidder and an excavator, two jet boats to facilitate floater safety on the river, a local type 3 Incident Management Team composed of Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, Flathead County, and MT State Department of Natural Resources, for a total of 120 total personnel.

SPECIAL MESSSAGE: Stage 1 Fire restrictions will go into effect for all of Northwest Montana on Friday, July 3, 2015. FOR YOUR SAFETY AND FIREFIGHTER SAFETY DO NOT STOP IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN THE FIRE AREA. Vehicles on driving on the North Fork Road are asked to not stop in the fire area. River floaters on the river are asked to not stop in the fire area. Helicopters are working over head to shuttle fire fighters to the fire as well as performing water drops. The helicopters cannot fly overhead if people are stopped below.

Fire Information: 406/387-3867
Email: glacierrimfire@gmail.com
Web: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4336

The Glacier Rim Fire showed little growth yesterday, with good progress being made on containment . . .

The Glacier Rim fire put up some impressive flares, but only grew by five acres Tuesday.

The human-caused fire 11.5 miles north of Columbia Falls has burned about 85 acres between the North Fork Road and the North Fork of the Flathead River along Glacier National Park’s western boundary.

A crew of 115 firefighters has got it about 30 percent contained.

Fire spokeswoman Sonja Hartmann said as the blaze worked through forests already torched in the 2003 Roberts fire, it occasionally hit piles of toppled trees and sent up impressive flames.

Read more . . .

See also: Firefighters have line around Glacier Rim fire; Stage 1 restrictions now in effect (Hungry Horse News)

Here is the official Tuesday evening report on the status of the Glacier Rim Fire:

Release Date: Jun 30, 2015

Fire Information – Glacier Rim Fire Tuesday, June 30, 2015 9:00 AM; Flathead National Forest

Fire Information: (406) 387-3867

Email: glacierrimfire@gmail.com

Web: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4336

The Glacier Rim Fire is burning on the Glacier View Ranger District, in the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park. This fire is being managed with full suppression tactics, with fire fighter and public safety as a priority.

Fire Summary:
Location: North of Columbia Falls, MT, approximately 11.5 miles up the North Fork Road, in the vicinity of Glacier Rim.

Detected: June 27, 2015 Cause: Human caused, under investigation

Legal Description: SE, Section 27, T32N, R20W; Lat/Long: Lat. 48° 30’ 9” North, Long. 114° 8’ 39”

Current size: 85 acres; Containment: 30%

Current Status: The Glacier Rim fire started on June 27, 2015, at approximately 1 p.m. The fire is believed to be human caused and is under investigation. The fire is burning in the old 2003 Robert Fire burned area. The fuels are mixed heavy dead timber and brush, with significant snag hazard. The fire is primarily located west of the North Fork Road, though it has spotted across the North Fork River in to Glacier National Park.

Today, Tuesday June 30, fire fighters will continue to build line around the fire and reinforce already established lines. The north edge of the fire within Canyon Creek is still not contained due to steep terrain and heavy timber. Firefighters will continue to work towards total line containment with helicopters and heavy equipment assistance. Crews will continue within the park to control any spot fires. Firefighter efforts are challenged due to safety concerns involving extreme danger of falling dead trees originally burned in the Robert Fire of 2003.

Yesterday, Monday June 29th worked to build line around the fire but were unable to reach the steep north flank. They were able to make substantial progress due to higher humidity and calm winds. A fire fighter lookout spotted a hot spot within the Glacier Park and the crews within the park were able to work on it immediately. Firefighters continued the same tactics of using heavy equipment and hand crews to build fire line, with helicopters assisting. Unseasonably warm weather and extremely dry fuel conditions are driving fire behavior in these previously burned fuels. Two residences directly adjacent to the fire voluntarily chose to leave. No evacuation orders have been issued by the county. Two Bear helicopter ran their infrared camera last evening to detect any potential hot spots. They found that the interior of the fire still continues to generate intense heat, but no new spots were detected.

The following resources are assigned to the fire: three 20-person fire crews and several other smaller modules of firefighters, two engines, two water tenders, two helicopters, a mix of heavy equipment including a dozer, two feller-bunchers, a grappel skidder and an excavator, two jet boats to facilitate floater safety on the river, a local type 3 Incident Management Team composed of Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, Flathead County, and MT State Department of Natural Resources, for a total of 115 total personnel.

SPECIAL MESSSAGE: FOR YOUR SAFETY AND FIREFIGHTER SAFETY, DO NOT STOP IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN THE FIRE AREA. Vehicles on driving on the North Fork Road are asked to not stop in the fire area. River floaters on the river are asked to not stop in the fire area. Helicopters are working over head to shuttle fire fighters to the fire as well as performing water drops. The helicopters cannot fly overhead if people are stopped below.

When we passed the fire site at around 10:30 a.m. this morning, a small smoke plume was rising from the face of the ridge west of the North Fork Road. Otherwise, there was little activity evident.

Here’s what the Flathead Beacon had to report . . .

Update: June 30, 12 p.m.

Firefighters reined in a human-caused wildfire north of Columbia Falls on Monday but concerns loom from a series of thunderstorms that swept the valley last night.

The Glacier Rim Fire, located near the western banks of the North Fork Flathead River across from Glacier National Park, has burned 85 acres and is 30 percent contained, according to incident managers. Nearly 115 personnel and two helicopters are battling the blaze.

“We’re looking a lot better today than the start of yesterday,” Keith VanBroeke, operations chief for the incident management team in charge of the fire, told crews in the June 30 morning briefing.

Read more . . .

There was not a lot of new information posted overnight about the Glacier Rim Fire. It is now about 60-80 acres in size. The blaze continues to burn in the old snags and debris left over from the 2003 Robert Fire, which is no fun for fire crews. The North Fork Road is still open — tentatively. The Type III fire management crew should be on-site by now, along with even more equipment. They are treating this one as a “full suppression” fire. Smoke from the fire is causing air quality problems down-valley, especially in Columbia Falls. I saw no discussion about the thunderstorms due through the area later today.

Here are links to the more recent press coverage:

Glacier Rim Fire continues to burn – Daily Inter Lake (paywall)

North Fork Road reopened as Glacier Rim Fire doubles in size – Missoulian

The Glacier Rim Fire continues to burn as crews work on containing it to keep  it away from heavier fuels . . .

A 30-acre wildfire along the North Fork of the Flathead River is still burning today and U.S. Forest Service officials say a Type III management team will be put in place to try and contain it.

The Glacier Rim Fire started shortly after noon on Saturday and grew from less than an acre to more than 30 acres in a matter of hours. The fire forced the closure of the North Fork Road about 11 miles north of Columbia Falls, but today the road has been reopened. However, officials ask that people not stop along the road and to stay out of the way of firefighters in the area.

Flathead National Forest Public Information Officer Ema Braunberger said that at least 50 firefighters were on site early Sunday morning and that more were on the way. She said firefighters hope to build a firebreak around the entire fire today before this afternoon’s record-breaking temperatures arrive. Saturday was the hottest June day on record in Kalispell with the mercury hitting 97 degrees. But that record may not last long as the National Weather Service in Missoula says temperatures could exceed 100 degrees today.

Read more . . .

See also: North Fork Road reopened as crews battle Glacier Rim Fire