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Wildfire, fire management and air quality news for western Montana and the Northern Rockies.

Roaring Lion Devours 14 Homes, Bad Day Predicted Tuesday

Roaring Lion Fire
Eric Whitney
Public safety officials prepare to address a fire meeting at the Ravalli County fairgrounds Monday night

The Ravalli County Sheriff’s office confirmed that at least 14 homes have been lost in the Roaring Lion fire. They say that number may grow as they continue to visually check each property in the burn area. Specific addresses are being withheld until owners of all the lost homes can be notified individually.

The news came at a public information meeting last night in Hamilton that drew more than 600 people.

They applauded the local fire crews who spent 30 hours straight fighting the fire after it was discovered Sunday afternoon, and then got a somber warning from Greg Poncin, the top level federal fire manager who took command of the fire last night.

"Here’s the bad news, and it’s important to understand this," he told the anxious crowd. "We have a dry cold front coming through, we have high winds and low relative humidities, and it’s the recipe for more extreme fire behavior."

The fire is now being estimated at 3,505 acres in size. Crews reported making good progress on fireline on its east side, but say those lines are not secure and that the fire remains zero percent contained. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Eric Whitney is NPR's Mountain West/Great Plains Bureau Chief, and was the former news director for Montana Public Radio.
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