Temps cooling, but wildfires still burning in Montana

The Sharrott Creek Fire burns in the Bitterroot National Forest in 2024. (Provided by the Bitterroot National Forest and Inciweb)

A huge series of fires that span more than 400,000 acres across Wyoming and Montana has been helped by the cooler temperatures and the rain, while nearly 1,000 crew members try to contain the spread.

Some people near Birney, Montana, on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation have been evacuated, with a Level 2 evacuation order in place for parts of Big Horn, Rosebud, and Powder River counties in Montana.

The complex of fires includes:

• Flat Rock (52,599 acres; 35% contained)
• Remington (196,387 acres; 0% contained)
• Constitution (24,594 acres; 28% contained)
• House Draw (174,702 acres; 88% contained)

The fires started on Aug. 21, and most are north of Gillette, Wyoming, and burning into southern Montana, with the Remington fire threatening Treasure State property.

The Southwest Area Incident Management Team which is responsible for managing the fire and resources reports that there are 24 crews, three helicopters, 78 engines, nine bulldozers, seven water tenders and more than 840 personnel working on the fire, which was held at the perimeters on Sunday night, thanks, in part to the wet, cool weather. In a Facebook update on Monday, fire crew leaders were hoping that the cool weather and more precipitation would help knock the fires down even further.

Fire crews are battling a mix of grass, brush and some timber.

A community meeting is planned for 6 p.m., Wednesday at the Birney Post Office, 302 Commercial St.

Stage 1 fire restrictions are in place for the Custer Gallatin National Forest and the Ashland Ranger District.

Thunderstorms and flash flood warnings were issued for Birney area on Monday afternoon. Fire officials said that could make getting crews to fires more challenging with muddy conditions. The National Weather Service forecasts that Monday night will be cooler, with temperatures rebounding back to the high 80s on Tuesday.

Sharrott Creek Fire

Evacuation Orders

Fire managers and the Ravalli County sheriff have ordered evacuations due to the Sharrott Creek Fire for the following residential areas:

• Kootenia Creek, west of the intersection of Timber Trail, to include residences on Timber Trail.
• West of the west side of Sharrott Hill Loop, to include residences on Blue Grouse Lane, Redtail Hawk Lane, and Porcupine Lane.
• Marmot Lane west of Saint Marys Road.
• Saint Marys Lookout Road, west of the intersection of Saint Marys Road.

According to InciWeb, an evacuation order means:

This is the time to move out of the area IMMEDIATELY for safety reasons. This is not the time to move personal property and livestock. If you choose to ignore the order, you must understand that emergency responders MAY NOT BE ABLE TO assist you, and no other persons will be allowed into the area.

No Drones

For the safety of our flyers, please do not fly UAS (drones) in any of these areas. This is dangerous to our flyers and brings flight operations to a halt. — Incident team

Helicopters were conducting bucket drops and firefighters were building contingency lines Monday on the Sharrott Creek Fire that started outside Stevensville in the Bitterroot National Forest, according to the U.S. government’s interagency fire website, InciWeb .

The fire started by lightning on Friday, Aug. 23.

Fire managers have ordered evacuation orders for several residential areas.

However, Monday in a phone call, incident contact Alexandra Stuart said at least as of Sunday, not all residents had left their homes.

“I went out there yesterday, and I did see some people still in their houses that were in an evacuated area,” Stuart said.

Stuart said the sheriff’s office was going door to door. Monday afternoon, the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office could not be immediately reached by voicemail for the status of evacuations.

However, more resources were expected on the fire, according to InciWeb.

“In the foothills, hundreds of firefighters are actively engaged in protecting structures, building fire lines to limit fire spreading to the east, and continuing to scout for additional opportunities to contain the fire,” said an update posted late Sunday (Stuart said the number of firefighters Monday was 250).

“More resources, including firefighters and support personnel, are on their way and will be transitioning into a Type 1 Team by Tuesday morning.”

The fire had burned an estimated 1,048 acres as of Monday.

An infrared reconnaissance flight scheduled for Sunday was unable to fly due to maintenance, but Stuart said air attack performed a perimeter check Monday morning and visually confirmed the estimate for the time being.

“We are anxious to get another IR flight tonight to get an update,” Stuart said.

An update Monday said temperatures had dropped and cool, moist air had settled into the valley.

“However, the fire is currently located on the mid slope where the air is a little warmer and driver, which continues to support fire activity with some visible torching this morning,” the update said. “With the lack of strong winds today, the smoke will linger.”

A cold front is expected Tuesday with wind gusts of 25 to 35 mph.

A community meeting will take place 7 p.m. Tuesday, August 27, at the Stevensville High School or online on the Discover Bitterroot National Forest Facebook page . The agenda includes updates on the status of weather and fire behavior outlooks, operations and evacuation orders.