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

Montana Wildfire Roundup For August 4, 2016

A wall of smoke from the Roaring Lion Fire on July 31, 2016
Inciweb
A wall of smoke from the Roaring Lion Fire on July 31, 2016

The latest on wildfires around western Montana.

Last update 06:15 p.m. 08/04/16

This afternoon, fire officials announced changes in the evacuation areas for the Roaring Lion Fire, which reduced the number of homes under full evacuation.
 
The pre-evacuation areas now include Blodgett Camp south to Gold Creek Loop, including the Westside Road and Highway 93 to Spring Hill Road.

This also includes both sides of Lost Horse Road.
 
The full evacuation areas encompass Roaring Lion Road west of Springhill Road and everything south and west of Gold Creek Loop west of Highway 93, including Two Horse, Lupine Ridge, Highland Drive, and Whispering Pines.

Residents of Roaring Lion Road and Lost Horse Road will be allowed in by permit only.

Permits will be issued at the public meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Hamilton Assembly of God Church, or at the roadblocks.

Residents will be required to show proof of residence to obtain a permit.
 

Update: 5:45 p.m. 08/04/16

The Roaring Lion Fire southwest of Hamilton has grown to almost 7,800 acres as of this morning.

It is now 7 percent contained, up from 0 percent yesterday.

Safety officials are holding a public meeting at 7:00 tonight at the Hamilton Assembly of God Church at 601 West Main Street.

More than 800 homes are either evacuated, or in pre-evacuation warning areas due to the fire.

Fire Spokesman Mike Cole expects that to come up tonight:

"Most people are gonna have that on their mind, because they’ve been out of their houses for about four days now. The smoke is starting to diminish on days like this. You don’t see a lot of activity because inversion is holding that down. When that starts happening people start getting antsy, wanna get back in their homes."

Today crews are working to establish defensive lines, particularly on the northern and southern flanks of the fire.

There are now nearly 650 people working the Roaring Lion fire.

Fire officials say the hot and dry weather expected today and tomorrow is of some concern.

Thunderstorms are predicted throughout the weekend.

Update: 10:20 am 08/04/16

A press release from the Bitterroot National Forest says: "Fire danger on the Bitterroot National Forest has been raised to 'Very High' this morning. This summer, fire crews have responded to 11 human-caused fires and 10 lightning-caused fires. All fires, except the Roaring Lion and Observation Fires, have been extinguished.

Hotter and drier weather is predicted with the possibility of thunderstorms beginning Friday through the weekend. When fire danger is “very high” fires will start from most causes. The fires will spread rapidly and have a quick increase in intensity, right after ignition. Small fires can quickly become large fires and exhibit extreme fire intensity, such as long-distance spotting and fire whirls. These fires can be difficult to control and will often become much larger and longer-lasting fires."

Update: 9:30 a.m 08/04/16

The Roaring Lion Fire has reached 7,752 acres as of this morning and is now 7 percent contained, up from 0 percent yesterday.

Crews are working to establish hand lines, or defensive lines that limit the possibility of the fire spreading, particularly on the northern and southern flanks.

There are now 649 personnel working on this fire including hotshot crews, Rapid Response teams for residential areas, and air support.

The hot and dry weather expected today and tomorrow is of some concern, according to officials. Teams are aware of possible thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday.

The Fire Wise Information trailer is located at the Rocky Mountain Grange in Hamilton on 1436 1st Street, south of Murdoch's on the east side of Highway 93. The trailer is staffed between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

The Roaring Lion Fire Incident Management Team and local cooperators will be holding a community meeting on Thursday, August 4 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Hamilton Assembly of God Church at 601 West Main Street. Members of the Incident Management Team and local cooperators will be there to share incident objectives, fire fighting strategies and give an overview of the fire scene as well as answer questions and address concerns from the community. All are encouraged to come and participate.

Update 5:45 p.m. 08/04/16

Crews are taking advantage of favorable weather conditions to hem in the growth of the Copper King Fire burning eight miles east of Thompson Falls. Containment remains at zero percent for the nearly 1,300 acre fire, which only saw moderate growth over the past day.

Crews spent today clearing brush along the Clark Fork River corridor and constructing firelines to block the fire’s north and eastward progression, says fire spokesperson Mark Vosburgh.

"It's backed itself down close enough to the river now where they can get access to it reasonably without being hundreds of feet above the river on steep terrain."

Earlier this week, crews were dealing with backed-up traffic along Highway 200 caused by people rubbernecking the billowing smoke. This morning that smoke lifted and there’s not much to see.

"There's actually a little bit of road construction on a bridge that's slowing things down more than fire related traffic right now."

Though structure preparation procedures are ongoing, and the Big Hole lookout has been wrapped in fire protective material, no evacuation orders are in place. Several forest roads, trails and two campgrounds are closed.

There will be a public meeting at the Thompson Falls Community Center tomorrow August, 5 at 7:00 p.m.
 

Update 11:00 a.m. 08/04/16

The North Tullock Fire 15 miles northeast of Hardin has been declared 100% contained as of 9:00 a.m. The fire reached 2,720 acres of grass and brush burn.

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