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Black Cat Fire flanks highway 93, I-90

By Maggie Plummer

This week, wildfires continued their steady advances through western Montana’s forests and sometimes grasslands, causing numerous evacuations, highway closures or delays, and unhealthy air.

A new blaze - the lightning-caused Black Cat Fire - exploded near Frenchtown last Tuesday afternoon and made alarming runs into the Frenchtown and Evaro Hill areas. At press time this week, the wildfire flanked both highway 93 and Interstate 90, was estimated at 11,515 acres, and was 30 percent contained.

About 485 people were battling that blaze.

Some relief arrived Sunday evening in the form of rain sprinkles, higher humidity and cooler temperatures - helping firefighters contain the blazes, including the 96,154-acre Chippy Creek Fire 12 miles north/northwest of Hot Springs (33 percent contained) and the 34,810-acre Jocko Lakes Fire west of Seeley Lake (28 percent contained).

Although Sunday’s winds whipped up the fires, they also chased the stagnant, smoky air out of the valleys. By Monday area residents were breathing deep and enjoying some clean air while they could.

Evacuations for the Black Cat Fire affected residents along both sides of highway 93 from mile marker 5.5 to the Tribes’ Gray Wolf Peak Casino on top of Evaro Hill, including property accessed from Beargrass Mountain, Mercer, and Evaro Roads.

A preparedness request was in effect for residents along highway 93 from mile marker 10 to mile marker 12. Residents were advised to remove large items and be prepared to evacuate with one hour’s notice.

On Tuesday, residents on the east side of highway 93 as well as those west of Highway 93 and south of the Bucksnort Restaurant were allowed to return home.

However, an evacuation order remained in effect west of highway 93 from the Bucksnort Restaurant north to mile marker 10.

Those returning home were advised to stay ready to re-evacuate within one hour if necessary. That meant that livestock and large items such as boats and trailers were not yet brought back into the area, and residents were asked to limit their road use.

Officials managed to keep highway 93 open but motorists were reminded that stopping along the highway is not permitted. Also, due to fire activity adjacent to highway 93, intermittent delays were common.

Community fire information meetings were held at Frenchtown High School, with hundreds of residents attending and law enforcement and fire personnel providing information on the fire.

About a quarter-inch of rain fell on the Black Cat Fire early this week, helping cool the blaze down but not putting it out. Although the finer fuels were dampened by the rain, larger fuels continued to burn.

On the Chippy Creek Fire, rainfall was minimal but overcast skies and cooler temperatures assisted firefighting efforts. Southwest of Hubbart Reservoir, fire personnel contained a 75-acre fire that crossed the containment line by using existing roads.

Chippy Creek Fire information is now posted at the Marion Fire Department and at McGregor Lakes Resort along highway 2 west of Kalispell. As the southern edge of the fire was secured, firefighters and equipment were being moved to Marion.

As of Tuesday, the Chippy Creek Fire had nine hand crews, 37 engines, 42 pieces of heavy equipment, 15 water tenders, five helicopters, and a total of 648 people working on the blaze.

Residents along the Hubbart Dam Road from the junction with the Niarada Road north to the Hubbart Dam subdivision remained evacuated.

Also, temporary flight restriction remained in place over the large fire. Pilots were cautioned that numerous aircraft are working this blaze and many more are in the air over other fires in the region.

The Jocko Lakes Fire received from 0.02 to 0.2 inches of rain, which temporarily moderated fire behavior.

However, the new Ovando Point Fire, six miles northeast of Ovando, was at 74 acres Tuesday and staffed by 77 people.

Evacuations remained in effect for Placid Lake and pre-evacuation warnings for Seeley Lake and the surrounding area. However, Placid Lake residents were expected to be allowed to return to their properties on Wednesday if weather conditions continued as predicted.

Residents were reminded to avoid Boy Scout, Riverview, and Placid Lake Roads between 8 and 10 a.m. and p.m. Placid and Seeley Lakes remained closed to recreational use to help helicopters with buckets and water-scooping planes fight the fire.

Lake Inez is now open for recreational use.

Officials continue to ask motorists to slow down along highway 83 in the Seeley Lake area and watch for fire traffic entering and leaving the highway.

Late last week, Flathead Reservation air quality got so bad the Lake County Health Department, the American Red Cross, and Tribal Health Department opened three clean air centers - at the Elmo, Arlee, and St. Ignatius community centers. The centers were staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the smoke conditions lessened.

“During severe smoke conditions, clean air shelters can be designated to provide residents with a place to get out of the smoke,” said Barb Plouffe, a community health nurse with the Tribal Health Department. For more information on the centers, call Plouffe at 675-2700, ext. 6151. Or, contact Rich Janssen, Fire Information Officer, 676-2550, or the Lake County Health Department, 883-7288.

On Monday, an Area Command team assumed oversight responsibility for a half dozen fires and fire complexes currently burning in western Montana on state Department of Natural Resources land, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal lands, Bureau of Land Management land, and federal land on the Lolo National Forest, Bitterroot National Forest, and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

The Area Command team is led by Tom Zimmerman and will operate out of the Aerial Fire Depot in Missoula. The team is responsible for increasing efficiency in the management of large, complex fires and complexes, including: Black Cat; Jocko Lakes and Ovando Mountain; Sawmill Complex and Signal Rock; Rat and Pattengail Creeks; Rombo Mountain; and Conger Creek.

Meanwhile, arson incidents took place in Seeley Lake and over on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation.

Elizabeth Anna Sleath, 58, was charged with felony attempted arson and ordered held on $100,000 bail in Missoula County Justice Court. She is accused of starting two fires on private property in Seeley Lake. Fortunately, both fires were extinguished by citizens and firefighters before they could explode into wildfires.

Arson is suspected after two weekend fires on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation. One fire burned almost 400 acres before it was controlled. It also threatened four homes but they were not damaged.

Another blaze began early Sunday near Stone Child College but was contained at less than one acre.

The fires are being investigated by the Rocky Boy’s fire investigation officer. Tribal officials there are now investigating six suspected arson fires, including four that occurred July 31, and have offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

The InciWeb online information system reported Tuesday that Montana’s 28 wildfires have so far this season burned some 551,695 acres.