Weather aids fire crews

The Daily Inter Lake

Firefighters took advantage of cool weather and dampened fire activity to get a grip on the two largest fires in the Flathead area.

Heavy logging equipment and dozers were moved in to cut a fire line ahead of the 430-acre Sun Dog Fire, burning at the head of the Coal Creek in the North Fork Flathead basin.

"There was very little fire activity" Friday, said fire information officer Karen Semple. "And that was largely due to the high humidities and lower temperatures, and there was virtually no wind."

To take advantage of what's expected to be just a temporary lull, firefighters were put on a staggered shift schedule to allow work to carry later into the evening, Semple said.

Firefighters, along with 'dozers and heavy logging equipment, are cutting fuel breaks ahead of the fire rather than directly attacking it in the steep and inaccessible terrain where it is currently burning. Helicopters continue to drop water on the fire.

West of Kalispell, firefighters have made rapid progress on the 343-acre Murr Creek Fire, which is burning in roaded timber lands about eight miles south of McGregor Lake.

"They should have a complete line tied around that fire by today," said Dan Bushnell, a fire information officer with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

"Fire managers are feeling they have a very good handle on the fire at this point," he said.

However, it will be days before it is considered contained because of hot spots within the fire's interior, Bushnell said.

The 180-acre Holland Peak Fire is burning high in the Swan Mountain Range about five miles east of Condon. Because of its inaccessibility and the likelihood that it will not burn downslope into the Swan Valley, firefighters are not directly attacking it.

Rather, helicopters are being used to drop water on downslope "fingers" of the fire, and contingencies have been planned should the fire drop into lower elevations.

The three fires are all believed to have been started by lightning strikes last week. The Sun Dog and Holland Peak fires were detected Monday, and the Murr Creek Fire was first spotted Tuesday.