Gusting winds continue to fan the Elmo fire burning more than 16,000 acres west of Flathead Lake.
The Lake County Sheriff at 6:30 p.m. August 2 expanded the evacuation order to include all residents north and south of Lake Mary Ronan Road and all residents who live along Lake Mary Ronan. All prior evacuation orders are still in effect.
Pre-evacuation warnings are in effect for residents east and south of Highway 93 between the intersections of Highway 28 and Lake Mary Ronan Road.
Red Cross Evacuation Centers are located at Polson High School and Somers Middle School.
A public meeting is set for August 3 at 7 p.m. at the Elmo Pow Wow Grounds.
Much of Montana remains under threat of extreme fire behavior today. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for most of central and northern Montana today through 9 p.m. tonight.
With humidity as low as 11% and wind gusts reaching up to 45 miles per hour, the service says new fire starts would be hard to contain. Experts say residents should not drive on dry grass or shrubs, should mow lawns before 10 a.m. and should ensure tow chains don’t drag on the ground in order to prevent fire starts.
"Extreme" is the highest fire danger level possible. When fire danger is “Extreme” fires start quickly, spread furiously, and burn intensely. All fires are potentially serious and development into high intensity burning will be faster and occur even on smaller fires. Direct attack is rarely possible and may be dangerous except immediately after ignition.
Just 6 days after going to “Very High” fire danger, the Bitterroot National Forest announced Monday that it is raising its fire danger level to “Extreme” due to the continued hot weather and dry fuel conditions.
And on top of all that:
