As many as 60 firefighters from the Kootenai National Forest have been battling as many as 16 small, start-up fires in the forest since Sunday.

Dan Rose, the acting fire management officer in the Kootenai National Forest, said all the fires have been small, the largest blaze being the Ant Hill dispatch. The Ant Hill area is just about two miles north of Libby.

“Most of these fires are small, about a half-acre,” Rose said. “The Ant Hill fire was about two acres.”

Rose said the public may have sighted two helicopters — one larger and another smaller — in the area to help fight the fires. The copters allow for a rapid response, shuttling as few as two to three firefighters to each fire, he said.

Rose said the copters are an effective way to carry firefighters and equipment to the remote area fires.

To date, the forest has had 83 fires this season, which represents a sharp jump from the 60 fires of two weeks ago when Rose updated Lincoln County commissioners about the USFS efforts.

The Kootenai National Forest has averaged 160 fires per year during the last 10 years.

“(These fires) have been similar to the last several years, not large fires, but it gives our people some good experience,” Rose said.

As daily temperatures drop toward fall, the fire risk wanes. But Rose cautioned the danger is not over yet.

“No, there’s definitely not a date on the calendar, but usually some time in September.”

While the Kootenai National Forest has been blessed to have avoided major fires this season, other areas of Montana have not been as fortunate.

 Currently, there are six major fires in Montana, as reported on the National Interagency Fire Center, the largest being the Gold Pan Complex blaze in the Bitterroot. As of Thursday morning, that fire has burned 39,428 acres. 

Other large fires include the Beaverhead/Deer Lodge National Forest site in Madison County, the Lolo Creek Complex fire near Missoula, which has been contributing smoke into Lincoln County, the Miner Paradise Complex fire in the Gallatin National Forest, the Saylor fire and the Rock Creek fire in the Custer National Forest.