Critical Three Days Ahead - Continue to Stay Prepared

SEELEY LAKE – The community gathered Thursday, Aug. 17 for the sixth community meeting on the Rice Ridge Fire. The fire has dropped to the fourth fire on the national priority list. Suppression costs are currently at $13 million and rising.

Firefighting efforts are being concentrated on the southeast corner of the fire. A dozer line tied into the natural fuel break in the rocky cliffs on the top of Morrell Mountain and brought it down to the Cottonwood Lakes Road. There is also a hose lay is pumping water out of Cottonwood Lakes all the way to the top, eliminating the safety concern of engines on the road to the lookout.

Because of how rugged it is at the top of the ridgeline, operations lit the fire using a helicopter and a Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) machine. The helicopter drops "ping pong balls" filled with potassium permanganate that is injected with ethyl glycol. After the ball is injected and hits the ground it will ignite after 20-30 seconds. Hotshot crews will continue to bring fire down from the top of the mountain making the whole area black.

"We can't light more than we can fight," said Rich Schenk, field operations chief for the Eastern Area Team. He said the embers are landing on the retardant line, painted along the dozer line today, and crews are able to put them out before they create a problem.

The crews are staying on the line tonight and will continue burnout operations until they are complete or the weather becomes unfavorable.

Tomorrow late afternoon and evening a red flag warning is issued for critical fire weather ahead of a cold front. Hot, dry conditions will persist with windy conditions predicted with gusts up to 30 miles per hour out of the west, southwest. After the cold front passes, temperatures and the relative humidity will drop slightly but no moisture is expected.

While the winds can cause containment problems for firefighters, if it is out of a favorable direction, it can help with more complete burning. Operations is hoping that the winds will work in their favor since the objective of the burnout operation is to consume the fuels eliminating the potential for spread outside of the lines. A southern component to the winds will push the fire back on itself allowing the crews to light more fire.

Firefighters have completed the indirect line on the west side of the fire. It is now tied into the Morrell Complex from 2015 and the line at the southwest end of the fire. There is some smoke but it is being monitored and backing down towards the indirect line. Incident Commander Steve Goldman said that they are not going to actively put the fire out because they don't have the resources to devote to that, it is in an area that has a lot of dead trees and the indirect line is the best place to stop the fire based on fuels and topography.

The fire is also being monitored on the north and east and will be allowed to burn into the wilderness.

The evacuation warning is still in place. There is an evacuation command post set up in the cafeteria in case the team feels an evacuation is necessary.

"An evacuation order does not mean the town is going to burn down. It means we need to get people out so firefighters can work," said Goldman. "Please be ready. We are in a critical three or four days. If what operations is trying to do works, it will bring a significant level of security to the town."

The Sheriff's Office is being stretched very thin because of all the evacuations. Captain Anthony Rio asked the community to continue to stay vigilant

"We are blessed here right now because things appear to be going our way, but at the same time please be prepared," said Captain Rio highlighting unexpected events at the Lolo Peak fire that forced evacuations last night and today.

The structure specialists recommend if people leave, that they turn their sprinklers on, put a ladder up on the roof and leave the lights on. The power may be cut if powerlines come down to allow emergency personnel to cross the lines. Otherwise power will remain to town. The team also recommended homeowners turn off propane tanks outside of the house and lock doors.

If people are leaving, even for overnight, they are asked to call 406-258-3342 and leave a message with their name, address and amount of time they will be gone. This will help the Sheriff's Office keep track of people if an evacuation is ordered.

The roads are the Double Arrow Ranch are closed to the public. This is being enforced by local law enforcement and everyone is encouraged to adhere to the closure.

The Eastern Area Type 2 Team are timing out on Monday. They will be replaced with another team and the Incident Command Post will be moved from the Seeley Lake Elementary School out to the main camp south of town.

The next community meeting is tentatively planned for Monday, Aug. 21 at 6pm at the Seeley Lake Elementary school. Changes will be posted at the information boards around town, on Inciweb on the Pathfinder's Facebook page.

 

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