THOMPSON FALLS — The Thompson River fire complex has grown in size again and was estimated to be at 819 acres by Thursday afternoon. 

The four original fires have now merged into two fires — the Koo-Koo-Sint fire and the Spruce Creek fire — and the acreage has increased by more than 200 acres. A total of 12 private structures, and eight outbuildings could possibly be affected.

“Planned activity today includes the construction of line around these private structures,” stated U.S. Forest Service Public Information Officer John Hamilton in a press release Friday.

A Type 2 Management team has moved into the area to give personnel a helping hand. The management team will allow local Forest Service personnel to focus on other fires that may arise in the area.

A meeting was held on Thursday night in Thompson Falls to address public safety concerns and to provide the local community with an update.

According to Randy Hojem, district ranger for Plains/Thompson Falls area, the community should expect to see smoke and fire activity through the months of September and maybe even into October.

“What it’s going to take for both of these fires to go out is a season-ending event,” Hojem explained. “We’re going to have smoke in the air here until September and October most likely.”

The goal, Hojem explained, was to get the fire boxed in, allowing the flames to consume all the available fuel in the area.

The steep, rugged terrain has made fighting the fires difficult. Due to safety concerns, Hojem said he did not feel comfortable putting firefighters into much of the country affected.

“Our first priority on any fire is firefighter and public safety,” Hojem said. “I’m not going to put anyone in a spot where they have to use ropes to hang on the cliff to try to get a fire out.”

Incident Commander Ryan Butler stated the Spruce Creek fire is in an area where if anyone got injured, their only way out would be to winch the firefighter up with a helicopter.

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s no way to do business,” Butler said.

The Koo-Koo-Sint fire is currently very visible from Highway 200 and is the one most people in the area are seeing. The Spruce Creek fire is located approximately eight miles north.

The crews did pick up a small spot fire near the Spruce Creek fire yesterday; however, Butler assured the Chief Mountain Hot Shots went in and mopped up the area.

Currently the objective is to hold the Spruce Creek Fire to the West Fork Road. Butler said engines are currently stationed in the area to make this possible.

As for the Koo-Koo-Sint fire, the objective is to keep the flames to the south side of Koo-Koo-Sint Ridge. The crews utilized helicopters and retardant on the ridge yesterday in order to keep the fire where they want it.

On Friday, three hotshot crews were headed into the area to tie the fire down into the steep cliffs, hopefully confining it into a particular area.

“We think that’s doable. I think that’s the best bet to keep it as small as possible, but the concern which will be there for a while is the cliffs here at the bottom,” Butler explained. The cliffs are full of dead trees and the possibility for those to burnout and then fall down the steep sides is a concern.

Currently six engines are stationed in the area during the day, while four are stationed there during the night.

“Anything that falls out they’ll hit with their engines,” Butler said. “We’re utilizing helicopters during the day to kind of stop anything that backs down towards the highway.”

According to Hojem, the amount of aircraft now on the fire is unusual. Because of the lack of fire activity in the state of Montana, orders for both aircraft and crews were filled more readily than in a typical year.

Although the fire is burning through a lot of countryside, Hojem stated that it’s doing OK from a habitat standpoint.

“It’s going to be really good for the sheep up there following this,” Hojem said.

Stage 1 Fire Restrictions were enacted on Aug. 7 and Hojem stated that if the weather patterns continue on as they have, Stage 2 Fire Restrictions might be in the not so distant future.

“My crystal ball isn’t very good on when we are going to get there, but if it stays like this, it’s a pretty high likelihood that at some point this month we will (enact Stage 2 Fire Restrictions),” Hojem stated.

A major concern for the departments involved is Highway 200 and the potential of rolling debris from the Koo-Koo-Sint fire to interfere with traffic. Reader boards have been posted east and west of the fire and the public is urged to not stop along the highway, as stopping or slowing down could pose a hazard to motorists and fire traffic.

Justyna Tomtas is editor of the Clark Fork Valley Press in Plains.