Evacuations ordered near Skillet Fire on Saturday

Evacuations were ordered on Saturday for the Good Creek/Alder Creek area west of Olney as fire activity increased on the Skillet Fire.  

The Skillet Fire is located approximately 15 miles west of Olney. On Sunday morning, the fire was reported as 1,318 acres at 0% containment. The reported acreage is the same as Saturday; fire officials said fire activity increased, but an infrared flight for updated mapping was not conducted.  

On Sunday morning, the Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 7 assumed command. 

The fire remains most active on the northern edge along Alder Creek and is pushing towards the East Fork burn scar from 2023.  

On Sunday crews are working to establish an anchor point on the east side of the fire and are looking for opportunities to construct line along the south and east edges of the fire.  

Due to heavy downed fuels from the December 2025 blowdown event, access to much of the fire is difficult and poses a safety risk to firefighters.  

A dry cold front arrives today with temperatures between 65-70°F across the fire area. The front will bring winds out of the west sustained at 10-15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. 

With the winds out of the west, heavy smoke will continue to drift in from local fires in addition to fires in Oregon and Washington.  

More information about smoke and air quality can be found on the Skillet Fire InciWeb.  

The Flathead County Sheriff issued an evacuation order in the Good Creek/Alder Creek area. 

For questions regarding the Evacuation Order, call Sheriff’s Information line at 406-758-2111. Sign up for Flathead County Emergency Alerts at: https://flatheadcounty.genasys.com/portal/en/register  

The Flathead and Kootenai National Forests issued an area closure for public and firefighter safety due to fire activity. The area closure includes roads, trailheads, trails, day use areas, and campgrounds. The closure order can be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/flathead/alerts 

There is also a Temporary Flight Restriction in place to allow aviation resources to work safely in the fire area. For more information on this and other fires, visit https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/. 

    Skillet Fire, Sunday Aug. 2.
  

    Skillet Fire activity Saturday afternoon. Flathead National Forest photo.