More evacuations eased as Elmo Fire mellows

MATT BALDWIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 5 months AGO

A CL-415EAF super scooper flies into the rising smoke plume of the Elmo 2 Fire just south of Lake Mary Ronan Wednesday, Aug 3. (Jeremy Weber/Daily Inter Lake)

More than 600 firefighters converged on the Flathead Reservation over the weekend to help stop the Elmo 2 Fire dead in its tracks.

The blaze west of Flathead Lake that exploded in size over the previous week grew by only 20 acres between Saturday and Monday. The human-caused fire has charred 21,345 acres and destroyed eight structures since it began July 29.

Aided by favorable weather, crews on Sunday were able to place hose lines along the north flank of the fire perimeter at Lake Mary Ronan and Big Meadow Road.

To the south, the Helena Hotshots performed a small burning operation to bring the fire to a road that is supported with hose lines. Crews also worked to secure fire lines in areas of Cromwell Creek and Black Lake.

More evacuation orders were eased as containment increased to 55% on Monday.

Evacuation orders were lifted for residents along Lake Mary Ronan Road west of Dayton Creek Road. This area remains under pre-evacuation warning and is open to residents and guests only.

Camp Tuffit and West Shore Road remains under evacuation order and is closed to all traffic.

Residents of Chief Cliff Lane, Black Lake Road, Big Meadows Road and Dayton Creek Road remain under pre-evacuation warning and are open to residents only.

Two scoopers and three helicopters continue to work the fire, along with 616 firefighters. Total cost to fight the fire reached $10.4 million on Monday.

The fire remains under the command of John Thompson’s Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 7.

Hot and dry conditions on Monday were expected to kick up some smoke. Highs near 90 are predicted for the week ahead, with a slight chance of rain on Wednesday.

TO THE south, the Redhorn Fire slowed in growth over the weekend as well.

As of Monday, the fire had burned 395 acres of rugged terrain on the Mission Mountains north of St. Ignatius. About 56 firefighters were assigned to the blaze. Total cost to fight the fire was estimated at $325,000.

On the U.S.-Canada border in Lincoln County, the Weasel Fire was estimated at 2,542 acres. It is burning in a remote area on the Flathead and Kootenai forests, and into British Columbia.