The Skillet Fire burning west of Olney surged more than 1,000 acres amid dry and blustery conditions over the weekend.

About 244 personnel are now stationed on the blaze, which was estimated to cover 2,494 acres and remained at 0% containment on Monday. 

Flames were first spotted July 29 in the Tally Lake Ranger District of Flathead National Forest, about three miles northwest of the Good Creek community. The blaze has since spread northeast forcing evacuations of the Good Creek and Alder Creek areas. 

Crews established an anchor point Sunday in the Bowen Creek area and are now using heavy equipment to clear roads and dig containment lines, creating what one official described as a catcher’s mitt along the fire’s southern perimeter. The goal is to corral the flames away from homes and infrastructure in the Good Creek area and toward an area burned in the 2023 East Fork Fire, Public Information Officer Jordan Nesbitt said. 

“When it moves into that burn scar, it hits what we call a fuel transition,” Nesbitt said.  

There are fewer tall trees and less dense brush for the fire to burn through, making the flames easier for crews to control. 

About $2.5 million had been spent on fighting the Skillet Fire as of Monday morning. Five firefighting crews, two engines and one helicopter are stationed on the fire. Aircraft remained grounded on Monday morning as smoke from both local and regional wildfires limited visibility, but pilots are ready to support operations with reconnaissance flights and water deliveries when conditions improve. 

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality alert for all counties in western Montana through 9 a.m., Aug. 4 as westerly winds continued to push smoke from large wildfires in Washington and Oregon into the Treasure State. Air quality in Kalispell was considered unhealthy for sensitive groups on Monday afternoon. 

Summer monsoons could help dampen fire activity and smoke in the coming weeks, according to the state agency’s smoke forecast. 

“However, this pattern shift to our weather is likely more than a week away. In the meantime, expect surface smoke from regional and local wildfires to impact air quality for the foreseeable future,” officials wrote. 

Elsewhere in the region, fire crews continued to monitor the 6,029-acre Silvertip Fire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The 1,234-acre Elder I Fire near Frenchtown is now 44% contained.