Morning Update: There will be a community meeting in Ovando tonight at 6 pm at the Ovando Elementary School.
Evacuation Change: At 8 am this morning, Zone 5 in Seeley Lake was downgraded from an Evacuation Order to an Evacuation Warning, allowing residents to return to their homes. The only area still under an evacuation order for the Rice Ridge Fire is the Coopers Lake area in Powell County
The Rice Ridge Fire is now 139,502 acres a change of 4,000 acres since yesterday. The containment, defined by no heat, no smoke 100 feet off the line, increased to 33%. The cost is up to $39 million with 879 fire personnel assigned to the fire.
YESTERDAY: The fire line is becoming more secure each day in the Seeley Lake area. Rice Ridge Road (Forest Road 720) has been holding with no spot fires for several days on the northwest corner of the fire. The spot fire above Camp Creek continues to back down to road, and crews continue mop up along several fingers of fire in Camp Creek, Findell Creek and Murphy Creek drainages. Indirect fire line along Forest Road 4363 and adjoining dozer line towards the 2015 Morrell Complex fire scar remains in place as a backup to Rice Ridge Road. Mop up and patrol continues from Murphy Creek south to Little Shanley Creek near Kozy Corner. Firefighters are putting out all sources of heat, and have eliminated any heat source within 100 feet of the fire line in most of this area.A large smoke column visible in the afternoon north of Seeley Lake was coming from the Babcock Creek drainage, but did not threaten fire lines.
A large aerial burnout operation that has been taking place on the mountain north of the Cottonwood Lakes Road (Forest Road 477) between Little Shanley Creek/ Black Canyon Creek on the west and Cave Creek/Dunham Creek on the east (6 miles wide) has been proceeding as planned. About 1:00 am last night the Flathead Hotshots completed a hand-firing operation on approximately 3 miles of the shaded fuel break along Cottonwood Lakes Road in the area between Big Shanley Creek and Cave Creek west of Monture Cabin.
Heavy equipment continued to remove logs and slash from the shaded fuel break on the Cottonwood Lakes Road west of Monture Cabin and mop up is nearly completed in the cabin area. Shaded fuel break construction continued east from Forest Road 89 towards Coopers Lake. Seeley Lake was closed to water craft use for a second day so fixed-wing scooper planes could "scoop" water from Seeley Lake to drop on the east side of the fire in McDermott Creek to keep the fire from moving south towards homes around Coopers Lake. Structure protection continued around the homes at Coopers Lake, Seeley Lake and Placid Lake (east of the Liberty fire). Night patrol and mop up focused on fire lines near Seeley Lake and Cottonwood Lakes Road .
TODAY: Winds will be out of the west today at 10 mph, gusting to 22 mph on ridge tops. Fire activity is expected to pick up by late afternoon as smoke clears, and smoke columns may develop over active parts of the fire. Firefighters will continue to hold and mop up along the Rice Ridge Road on the northwest corner of the fire. They will make improvements to Forest Road 4363 and the adjoining dozer line to the 2015 Richmond Fire. Mop up and patrol will continue from Camp Creek south and east to Little Shanley Creek near Kozy Korner. Aerial ignition burnout operations will continue for the third day between Little Shanley Creek/ Black Canyon Creek on the west and Cave Creek/Dunham Creek on the east to bring the fire down to Cottonwood Lakes Road. Hand ignition burnout operations will continue from Shanley Creek west to Little Shanley Creek to complete the shaded fuel break burnout started last night along Cottonwood Lakes Road. Heavy Equipment task forces will continue indirect fire line, shaded fuel break construction, and log and slash removal east towards Coopers Lake. Structure protection is in place around Coopers Lake and air operations will continue in the McDermott Creek drainage to keep the fire from moving south towards Coopers Lake. Firefighters will coordinate operations with their counterparts on the Park Creek Fire.
Staffed Fire Information Locations: - Seeley Lake at Cory's Valley Market (Change in Hours-8 am to 10 am) and Blackfoot Mercantile in Ovando (1 pm to 3 pm).
EVACUATIONS & WARNINGS:
Powell County evacuation order: includes the Monture Cabin area and the Coopers Lake area. Powell County evacuation warning: includes all other areas of Powell County north of Highway 200 between the Missoula County line on the west and the Lewis and Clark County line on the east. Powell County residents can download CodeRED to their mobile devices to receive critical information notifications, available through the Sheriff's website.
Missoula County evacuation orders and warnings: All Evacuation Zones near Seeley Lake remain under Evacuation Warning. Missoula County residents can receive emergency notifications of critical alerts via their choice of text, phone and/or email by signing up for Smart911 at https://www.smart911.com/.
Evacuation Shelters: Anyone seeking shelter may call the Red Cross of Montana at 1-800-272-6668.
Evacuation/Closure Information: Evacuations and road closures are based upon the need to provide for safety of the public and firefighters, current fire behavior, forecasted weather, and planned suppression operations. Fire officials, Missoula and Powell County Sheriff's Offices, and Montana Department of Transportation will evaluate the evacuation and road closures daily. The Incident Commander and the Missoula and Powell County Sheriffs appreciate your patience and will work hard to get you back into your homes as soon as it is safe to do so. Go to the Missoula County Sheriff's Facebook page or, in Powell County, call 406-396-1386 for the most current information.
Drones and TFR: There is a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) for the Rice Ridge fire including "drones" or unmanned aerial vehicles. If drones are detected, air operations stop. If you see a drone in the fire area, including the evacuation areas, report it immediately to 406-813-0527. Your cooperation is needed to insure the safety of our pilots.
Stage II Fire Restrictions are in effect for Missoula and Powell Counties and across the Lolo and Flathead National Forests with the exception of the Bob Marshall Wilderness which is in Stage 1. However, many areas in the wilderness are closed due to the fire. Additional information is on Inciweb and the Lolo and Flathead National Forest websites.
Closures: Multiple closures related to Rice Ridge Fire suppression efforts are in effect for public lands managed by the Lolo and Flathead National Forests, Bureau of Land Management, Montana DNRC, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Visit fwp.mt.gov or call 406-542-5500 for up-to-date information on closures.
Jurisdiction: The Lolo National Forest and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). Montana National Guard soldiers are providing assistance to the Missoula and Powell County Sheriffs.
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