Morning Update for the Rice Ridge and Liberty Fire Updates: There will be a community meeting tonight, Sept. 19, at 6 pm at the Ovando Elementary School Gym.
The Rice Ridge Fire is currently 160,170 acres, 61% completed* with 377 personnel assigned to the fire. It has cost $45.4 million and threatened 1719 structures.
The Liberty Fire is currently 28,689 acres and 98% completed*. There has been one outbuilding lost and the fire has cost $20.3 million. There are currently 167 personnel assigned to the fire.
Evacuations: All Evacuation Warnings have been lifted for the Rice Ridge Fire by the Missoula and Powell County Sheriffs' Offices, effective immediately.
Liberty fire: This will be the last update that includes information for the Liberty fire. The local unit will assume command of the fire at 7 am tomorrow morning, Sept. 20.
SUMMARY: Light rain occurred over the fire area last night and will be intermittent today with snow above 5,500 ft. Temperatures will be in the 40s today as the cold front continues over the fire. Rain and snow will continue for the remainder of the week and should bring more rain over the fires.
YESTERDAY on the Rice Ridge: Additional sprinkler systems were installed near Swamp Creek and approximately 6,000 gallons of water were applied to the area of the swamp still showing heat. Firefighters continued mop up and patrol from the northwest side of the fire south and east to Monture Cabin. As weather allowed, excavators continued fire suppression repair of dozer lines interior to the fire lines east of the town of Seeley Lake and on the Morrell Lookout Road. Excess fire personnel are starting to leave the fire as the organization downsizes to appropriate size for the work that remains on the fire area. Most log processing and slash piling left to finish is on private lands along the indirect fire line between Forest Road 89 and Coopers Lake.
YESTERDAY on the Liberty: Slash from shaded fuel breaks on the west side of the fire continued to be moved off the Crazy Fish Lake, Jocko Lookout and Boles Meadows Roads for burning in safety zones where snow is still on the ground.
TODAY on Rice Ridge: Mop up will focus on Forest Road 720 near Camp Creek and the remainder of the fire line south and east to Monture Cabin will be primarily in patrol status with back haul of equipment and mop up as needed. Sprinkler systems will remain in the bogs area near Swamp Creek. Crews will work today to remove slash along the indirect fire line between Forest Road 89 and Coopers Lake to lands administered by the Department of Natural Resource Conservation.
TODAY on Liberty: Firefighters will continue to haul slash from fire line clearing on the west side of the fire to safety zones and burn slash piles in those locations because snow is still on the ground. The east side of the fire will be in patrol status. On the southeast side of the fire mop up along the Belmont Road will be focused on any remaining areas of heat near the fire line. As weather allows, crews will assess areas to the north, where an excavator is located, to begin suppression repair of fire lines.
Staffed Fire Information Locations: - Seeley Lake at Cory's Valley Market (8 am to 10 am) and Blackfoot Mercantile in Ovando (1 pm to 3 pm).
Completed·: The suppression strategy for Rice Ridge 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 in the summary table on page 1 indicates that 61% of the full suppression/confinement actions taken on the fire have been completed.
On the Liberty fire, the suppression strategy is full suppression on 50% of the fire perimeter and confinement on 50% of the fire perimeter. Today's "Completion" percentage summary table indicates that 98% of these actions have been completed.
Stage II Fire Restrictions are in effect for Missoula, Powell and Lake Counties and across the Lolo and Flathead National Forests with the exception of the Bob Marshall Wilderness which is in Stage 1. Many areas in wilderness are closed due to the fires. Find up-to-date information 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 the Lolo and Flathead NF webpages or fwp.mt.gov or call 406-542-5500 for up-to-date information on closures.
Jurisdiction: The Lolo National Forest, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Montana DNRC.
Reader Comments(0)