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Fire near Lower Stillwater Lake fully contained

HEIDI DESCH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 10 months AGO
by HEIDI DESCH
Heidi Desch is features editor and covers Flathead County for the Daily Inter Lake. She previously served as managing editor of the Whitefish Pilot, spending 10 years at the newspaper and earning honors as best weekly newspaper in Montana. She was a reporter for the Hungry Horse News and has served as interim editor for The Western News and Bigfork Eagle. She is a graduate of the University of Montana. She can be reached at hdesch@dailyinterlake.com or 406-758-4421. | August 5, 2019 5:04 PM

Firefighters on Monday were wrapping up work on a 10-acre fire located west of Lower Stillwater Lake near Olney.

The Lower Stillwater Fire began on Thursday, Aug. 1 about 2.5 miles south of Olney just west of the lake and the Stillwater River.

On Monday, the fire was 100% contained, according to fire officials with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. The fire was listed in patrol status with crews performing rehabilitation on the fire line such as reseeding to promote regrowth.

The fire was reported to the Kalispell Interagency Dispatch at 6 p.m. on Aug. 1 burning in grass, brush and timber.

Firefighters and engines from DNRC, Flathead National Forest, and Olney, along with a DNRC helicopter stopped the fire progression initially holding it at 2 acres in size.

A 20-person Interagency Hotshot Crew joined local resources and then was later released from the fire.

Work over the weekend included building a fireline with heavy equipment and working hotspots along the perimeter.

There were no structures threated, evacuations or closures as a result of the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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