Rice Ridge Fire Saturday Morning Update

Morning Update: Still no IR flight so the acreage remains at 155,900 acres. The fire is now 45% contained and has 608 personnel assigned. The cost is up to $42.3 million.

There will be a community meeting in Seeley Lake Monday, Sept. 18 at 6pm at the Mission Bible Fellowship Church, 3158 Highway 83.Tuesday night, Sept. 19, their will be another community meeting at the Ovando Elementary School Gym, 108 Birch Street at 6pm.

YESTERDAY: Precipitation over the past two days decreased from east to west over the fire area, with 0.3 inches of rain at Kleinschmidt Flat near Coopers Lake but only 0.14 inches at Seeley Lake. However, cooler temperatures and higher humidity have minimized fire behavior over the entire fire area. Another cold front will approach from the west early next week.

All fire line and shaded fuel break construction was completed yesterday. The primary mission of firefighters from Camp Creek to Coopers Lake was mop up, patrol and back haul of surplus fire equipment from the fire line. Sprinkler systems remained in several locations along the fire line including Blind Canyon Creek and Swamp Creek. Mop up was focused in the Camp Creek area on the north end of the fire and on Cottonwood Lakes Road on the south side of the fire west of Monture Cabin. Removal of logs and slash continued throughout the shaded fuel break areas along Forest Roads 477, 89 and the indirect fire line east to Coopers Lake. Suppression repair work with excavators started east of Seeley Lake on some dozer lines within the burned area.

The Montana National Guard continued to help fire crews with back haul of fire equipment off the fire lines and preparing equipment for return to the Missoula Fire Cache. All structure protection was removed from homes along the Highway 83 corridor, Double Arrow subdivision and Placid Lake and firefighters started dismantling sprinkler systems in the Monture Cabin area, Doney Lake and Coopers Lake.

TODAY: Mop up and patrol will continue from the north side of the fire along Forest Road 720 near Camp Creek south and east along Forest Road 477 to Monture Cabin. Sprinkler systems will remain in place at Blind Canyon Creek and Swamp Creek near Seeley Lake. Mop up will continue along Forest Road 477 between Little Shanley Creek and Cave Creek on the south side of the fire. Log and slash removal will continue along the indirect fire line between Forest Road 89 and Coopers Lake. Firefighters will continue back haul of hose, pumps and other firefighting equipment along the fire line where it is no longer needed. Sprinkler systems will be removed from Monture Cabin, Doney Lake and Coopers Lake. There is no longer a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in place for the Rice Ridge fire.

LOOKING AHEAD: At some point in the future, the fire area will no longer be closed. New hazards will be present as people enter the area. When you enter a burned area, treat it as if you have never been there before. The following are a few hazards to begin thinking about to be prepared. These hazards include, but are not limited to:

Trees and snags that may fall at any time, but especially susceptible to failure during high wind and/heavy rain or snow. Even if a tree has green needles, its' root system may be burned out and it could fall, even without wind. Tree roots may have burned out under the ground, creating unexpected holes that may not be visible on the surface.

Rolling rocks and debris are common in fire areas where foliage is no longer present to hinder their movement downhill unexpectedly, especially as freezing/thawing or rain/snow loosens them. Thunderstorms, long duration storms, and rain-on-snow events can produce soil movement and debris flows which may occur throughout the burned area and downstream of these areas. These debris flows can plug culverts, wash out roads and are dangerous for anyone caught in their path.

Consider alternative routes and their current availability. If the location within the burned area where you are recreating or hunting doesn't have a second route be prepared with the appropriate gear. Have a solid check-in plan as well. No one will come to your aid if they don't know you are in trouble.

Completed*: The suppression strategy for this fire is full suppression on 23% of the fire perimeter and confinement on 12 % of the fire perimeter for a total of 35%. The remaining 65% of the fire is burning in remote backcountry and wilderness and will be monitored. Action will be taken as necessary to keep the fire from coming out into areas where values at risk would be impacted. Today's "Completed" percentage indicates that 45% of the full suppression and confinement actions taken on the fire have been completed.

Evacuations and Warnings: Powell County evacuation warnings: all Evacuation Zones in Powell County north of Highway 200 between the Missoula County line on the west and the Lewis and Clark County line on the east, and that portion of Zone 5 near Seeley Lake that is in Powell County remain under Evacuation Warning.

Missoula County evacuation warnings: All Evacuation Zones near Seeley Lake remain under Evacuation Warning. Evacuation/Closure Information: Evacuations/road closures are based upon the need to provide for public and firefighter safety, current fire behavior, forecast weather, and planned fire operations. Fire officials, Missoula and Powell County Sheriff's Offices, and Montana Department of Transportation evaluate evacuation and road closures daily. Go to the Missoula County Sheriff's Facebook page or, in Powell County, call 406-396-1386 for the most current information.

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.

Here are a couple of links for interactive maps of the Rice Ridge Fire. One is a progression map: http://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/TimeAware/index.html?appid=7ac19aaf7c994fde82479fc356a14378

The other interactive map shows the evacuation warning areas and areas of intense and scattered heat. http://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/PublicInformation/index.html?appid=d78e3d3dcc2d4fddb5d9ac082a16d724

 

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