(GREAT FALLS) The Garden Creek Fire that’s burning near the town of Hot Springs west of Polson has now burned an estimated 2,052 acres, and the perimeter is 10% contained as of Saturday.
The fire was sparked by lightning on July 29th, and is being managed by a local Type 3 Incident Management Team. It is located two miles north of the town of Hot Springs and is burning on Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes land and the Lolo National Forest in timber, along steep, rocky, rugged terrain.
There are 235 personnel assigned to the fire, which is burning mostly on the CS&KT Division of Fire responsibility area with a small amount of U.S. Forest Service land also affected on the northwest of the incident.
According to Inciweb, one structure on the lower HS-5000 Road was evacuated. The structure has been secured. The residents have since returned home. There are 235 fire personnel assigned to the incident.
Activity yesterday– The north perimeter was a priority and hand crews secured these control lines. Aviation and heavy equipment was used to support the operation.
Today– The main focus of the management team will be to secure the north perimeter. A burnout operation will be conducted to achieve this objective. Hand crews and equipment will assist in the burnout. Helicopters will be used to cool hot spots along control lines. Southwest/West winds are forecasted.
CS&KT road closures– The following roads are closed until further notice. The HS-4000 road, HS-5000 road, HS-1000 road at the HS-5030 junction to the north of the fire and the HS-1000 road at the McGinnis road junction to the south of the fire.
Today’s weather– RED FLAG WARNING in effect until Midnight tonight. A dry cold front will pass through Western Montana today producing critical fire weather conditions due to strong and shifting winds and low RH’s. Today- Partly cloudy. Haze and patchy smoke. Temps- 95-100 Humidity- 10-20% Winds- Southwest 5mph and increasing to west 15-25mph. The fire is 2,052 acres and 10% contained. Please stay out of the area and adhere to all road closures.
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