Wheat field fire a smoky sight
Ryan Murray | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 2 months AGO
<p>Firefighters from the Creston Fire Department and the DNRC wrap up a 30 acre fire on Sunday afternoon, August 18, near the intersection of Egan Road and Muddy Lane. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Photos of a 30 acre fire on Sunday afternoon, August 18, near the intersection of Egan Road and Muddy Lane. Photos courtesy of Gina Nelson</p>
<p>Photos of a 30 acre fire on Sunday afternoon, August 18, near the intersection of Egan Road and Muddy Lane. Photos courtesy of Gina Nelson</p>
<p>This map from Flathead National Forest shows the progression of the Damnation Fire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.</p>
At approximately 3:10 p.m. yesterday, Creston Fire units responded to a burning wheat field near the juncture of Steel Bridge Road and Egan Road.
When the fire was first reported it was close to one acre in size, but dry heat and winds made it grow rapidly to at least 30 acres.
A plume of dark smoke blew north over Evergreen as crews tangled with the blaze.
The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation called in a helicopter, which flew toward the fire from the west to assist ground teams.
A representative from the Flathead Emergency Communication Center said the teams were still on the ground “mopping up” at 4:45 p.m., but the fire had been contained and doused.
As of 5 p.m. Sunday, a cause had not been determined. A message for the fire chief was not returned.
A different brush fire began after 5 p.m. Sunday on Blackhawk Lane north of Evergreen.
Efforts to quell the fire were ongoing into the early evening.
Another fire, the Damnation Fire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, had grown from 1,375 to 1,870 acres over the weekend. The size was estimated at 2,242 acres Monday morning.
Lightning was the cause of the Damnation Fire, which was burning in the Damnation and Lewis creek drainages.
The fire is burning approximately 21 miles east of Swan Lake and is burning primarily areas that have been burned in recent years. The Lewis Fire, in 2000, burned a swath of much of the same area as the Damnation Fire.
As of Sunday it had reached the historic Mud Lake Lookout on Mud Lake Mountain. Precautions were taken Saturday to prevent the structure from burning, and Sunday a crew hiked to the lookout to wrap the building in fire-resistant material.
Structural protection of the Salmon Forks Cabin and placement of sprinklers on the Big Salmon Creek Bridge continues.
Helen Creek Trail, Trail in the Mist Trail, Hodag Creek Trail and Mud Lake Lookout Trail are all closed to the public.
The Hodag Ridge Fire and Pogoda Fire — ignited from the same August 11 lightning storm as the Damnation Fire — remain small at under 1/4 acre each.
The Snow Creek Fire remains static at 38 acres.