About 50 firefighters were deployed Saturday fighting a fire up the North Fork that had grown from a quarter of an acre at 1:46 p.m. to 30 acres within five hours.

Firefighters from Flathead National Forest and Montana Department of Natural Resources were joined by crews from Blankenship, Columbia Falls and several other Flathead Valley fire departments.

Two helicopters were dropping water on the fire while multiple fire engines were deployed.

The fire started at a gravel pit near the North Fork Road at mile marker 11.5 near Glacier Rim, a popular access on the North Fork of the Flathead River.  

The fire was burning in moderate fuels and was working into heavy fuels. The smoke plume was visible from Whitefish and Kalispell.

Saturday evening, the fire was igniting spot fires across the river in Glacier National Park.

The high priority is to keep the fire on the Forest Service side of the river, according to Flathead National Forest Public Affairs Officer Ema Braunberger.

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office closed the North Fork Road during the firefighting effort, Braunberger said.

Heavy equipment including bulldozers and three more fire crews were ordered for the fire late Saturday.

“When it’s this dry, it doesn’t take much for those embers to fly,” Braunberger said.

The fire growth occurred on a record-breaking hot day, with the mercury reaching 97 degrees at Glacier Park International Airport.

“High temperatures always make it harder to fight fires,” Braunberger said.

Firefighters won’t get much relief from the weather today, since a high temperature of 101 degrees is forecast for the Flathead Valley.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].