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

Spring Fire In The Bob Marshall Burns Over 1,000 Acres

Arial view of the Elk Creek Fire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, April 11, 2016.
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Arial view of the Elk Creek Fire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, April 11, 2016.

The Elk Hill fire, which started early Saturday morning in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, has burned more than 1,000 acres in the Circle Creek area. The U.S. Forest Service’s Kathy Bushnell says the 1,000 acre fire is unusually large for this time of year.

“I think it’s just a bit indicative of the dry conditions that we’re seeing in the area up there.”

The most active part of the fire remains the north edge in the Circle Creek area, and in the area of a 2005 fire because of the dead and down fuels there.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Bushnell say she believes it was caused by a warming fire, or a campfire.

There is no estimate yet for when it will be contained.

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