READY ACCESS-And no parking problems for helicopter pilots who have been staying at the Wilderness Gateway Inn in Seeley Lake. From here is a short hop by air to patrols over the site of the Canyon Creek Fire area.
Thirty-five Years Ago
Thursday, Sept. 29, 1988
Anglers consider forming bass club in Seeley Lake
Fishermen who enjoy catching bass in Seeley Lake may soon be forming a Bass Masters Club here, according to Tom Ward of the Big Sky Bass Masters in Missoula.
Ward pointed out that the waters here are ideal for bass fishing and that many local fishermen have inquired about joining the Missoula Club.
"It just seems like people in the area would benefit from a club," he said, pointing out that most Seeley Lake residents are unable to attend the Missoula meetings.
Ward is planning to schedule a meeting here in November to see how many people would be interested in organizing a new club. Specifics of the meeting will be announced next month.
To read more of this article and the rest of the issue visit https://www.seeleylake.com/home/customer_files/article_documents/1988-09-29.pdf
Rare conditions caused Canyon Creek fire blowup
By Lilly Tuholski - for the Lolo, Helena, Lewis & Clark National Forests.
Area residents who witnessed the Sept. 6 blowup of the Canyon Creek fire, which drove the fire out onto the plains and more than tripled its acreage, saw a rare spectacle brought on by extremely unique burning conditions. The fire grew nearly 180,000 acres overnight, displaying a frightening inferno, visible for miles against the nighttime sky.
According to prescribed fire specialist Curck Bushey, a private consultant working under contract for the U.S. Forest Service, no less than seven conditions have to occur simultaneously in order for such a huge fire event to occur. He has analyzed the history of previous catastrophic fires similar to the Canyon Creek blowup to determine which factors contribute to their occurrence.
The first of these factors is lightning which ignited the fire on June 25. The second and third - dry, heavy forest fuels and mountainous terrain, played a major role in the Canyon Creek fire for many weeks. These three factors were also present in the fires that have burned in the Northern Rockies this summer. However, fires that are catastrophic in nature will not develop until other weather-related factors occur in a series.
The fourth factor is the development of a high pressure ridge in the area of an existing fire. The fifth of Bushey's list of seven ingredients is created by the formulation of alternate bands of dry and moist air.
Sixth, a cold front must move into the area, followed by strong winds. Bushey believes that usually, the winds will be blowing in a direction parallel to the mountain range, creating the effect of a wind tunnel. Such a situation sets the stage for the fire to make a huge run in the northeasterly direction.
Bushey's research demonstrates that the seventh factor is a reverse wind profile. A reverse wind profile develops when wind layers of varying speed develop behind the invading cold front. The reverse wind profile is crucial because without it, a catastrophic fire on the order of the Canyon Creek blowup will not occur.
To read more of this article and the rest of the issue visit https://www.seeleylake.com/home/customer_files/article_documents/1988-09-29.pdf
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