Horse Gulch Fire Now 80% Contained; 2 New Fires Reported

HORSE GULCH FIRE (Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest)

Over the weekend, containment significantly increased on the Horse Gulch Fire near Canyon Ferry Reservoir, and as of Sunday morning, the fire is 80% contained. Crews are now focused on mop-up operations to extinguish any leftover heat along the eastern flank of the fire that could threaten containment lines in the event of adverse weather. Crews continue with suppression repair along the southern edge of the fire by redistributing debris berms created by fire line construction.

The fire's acreage has increased to 15,167 acres, but that is a result of the tactical firing operations over the past couple of days that successfully consumed the remaining islands of unburned fuel within the perimeter.

Today, mop-up will be concentrated along the northeast edge of the fireline, where firefighters are seeing the most amount of residual heat. Suppression repair will continue on the south, west, and east flanks of the fire.

Tonight, there will no longer be firefighters assigned to the night shift but will be available if fire activity warrants. Firefighters are available to respond to any new fire starts in the area.

BLACKTAIL CANYON FIRE (Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest)

The Blacktail Canyon fire was reported on Friday afternoon (July 19th). The fire is located 4 miles southeast of Butte, MT in timber with a heavy dead and down fuel component.  On the first afternoon, several large air tankers and a very large air tanker (VLAT) dropped retardant as helicopters assisted with water bucket drops.

Working in cooperation with the Butte-Silver Bow officials, fire managers have identified and prioritized critical values at risk, focusing on the protection of the homes and other structures in the Blacktail Canyon, Homestake Road, and Passmore Canyon areas. Local Fire Department engines provided structure assessments in these areas. Crews will continue to assess critical values at risk in the adjacent areas.

The Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Department issued an evacuation warning on July 19th for Blacktail Canyon Road southeast of Homestake Road and Homestake Road east of Blacktail Canyon Road. This warning means residents should be prepared to evacuate but are not yet under an evacuation order.

The fire is burning between Interstate 90 and Highway 2 and is highly visible from these road corridors. Travelers are encouraged to keep traffic flowing and refrain from stopping along the roadways, posing a safety hazard to others and firefighting apparatus.

LION MOUNTAIN FIRE (DNRC)

On Saturday evening (July 20th0, a fire was reported in the area of Lion Mountain, 2 miles west of Whitefish, MT. Whitefish Fire Department and Montana DNRC responded with multiple engines and 1 helicopter. The crews quickly stopped the forward rate of spread and the fire was held to  just a quarter-acre. This fire is still currently under investigation and will remain under patrol.

MILLER PEAK FIRE (Lolo National Forest)

Missoula is in a heat advisory with extreme heat projected through Tuesday.  There are Stage II fire restrictions in place for the Lolo National Forest and many of the surrounding area.  

The Miller Peak Fire has been burning since last Sunday (July 14), and is now 2403-acres with 0% containment reported. Growth continues to be driven by wind and topography.  The fire is located about 8 miles southeast of Missoula in the Plant Creek drainage of Miller Creek. Fire behavior has been very active and is in dense mixed conifer.

In the northwest section of the Miller Peak fire, crews have completed handline construction and are continuing to secure the perimeter of the fire. . Crews on the southwest side of the fire are working on securing the fire perimeter with mop-up operations. Firefighters on the southeastern side of the fire are continuing to improve the line adjacent to Moccasin Creek and improving Moccasin Ridge Road with heavy equipment taskforces. Crews in the northeast section of the fire are constructing fireline with hand crews and dozers in Greenough Creek Drainage and are improving Allen Creek Road with dozers and masticators. 

The weather forecast for the week ahead calls for continued hot and dry conditions through next weekend with a dry cold front expected to push into the area sometime Wednesday night through Thursday morning. This front is expected to bring gusty westerly winds and potentially cooler temperatures. These gusty winds paired with dry and warmer weather will cause more backing and flanking fire behavior with the fire expected to move into the drainages. 

DEADMAN, McGHEE, PRAIRIE & 4-MILE FIRES (DNRC/BLM)

The two largest fires burning in the state, The Deadman Fire (19,982acres) and the   McGhee Fire (19,223 acres) continue to occupy firefighters in Rosebud and Big Horn counties. The Deadman Fire is 35% contained, and the McGhee Fire 44% contained.

Saturday morning (July 20), initial attack resources responded to a new fire on the edge of the protection area. The new start was located one mile northwest of Kirby. A quick response from multiple local agencies, several engines, a dozer, a water tender and the Flathead Hotshot crew caught the fire as it burned up a slope in a stand of thick ponderosa pine. They kept the fire to approximately six acres. 

On the McGhee Fire, firefighters began intensively mopping up the south edge. They also worked on identifying and mapping dozer lines for potential rehabilitation needs.

The western edge of the Deadman Fire along the Tongue River still has unburned pockets of juniper trees, and access is difficult. Fire managers had hoped to burn out these pockets, but yesterday’s weather was not conducive to further burnout operations.  

Firefighters will continue mopping up the northwest edge of the Deadman Fire along Tongue River Road, as well as the south and north boundaries of the McGhee Fire, where residual heat remains. Repair and rehabilitation of the dozer line on the southwest side of Deadman will begin, and areas of McGhee will also move into the repair and rehabilitation phase.

Areas for suppression repair actions are being scouted and mapped on the Prairie and Four Mile Fires, which are both fully contained. The Prairie Fire burned 6,540 acres, and the Four Mile: 2,082 acres.