HOT! DRY! FIRE!

Here's the latest on the fire from the local newspaper: Fortunately for us, all we are currently dealing with is the smoke.


Story available at http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/08/31/news/state/21-fire.txt
Published on Thursday, August 31, 2006.Last modified on 8/31/2006 at 1:05 am
Towns of Fishtail, Nye under evacuation order
By The Gazette Staff
Hundreds of residents in Stillwater and Sweet Grass counties have evacuated their homes as the Derby fire exploded to an estimated 80,000 acres.High temperatures, low humidity and shifting wind fueled a rapid spread to the east Wednesday afternoon and evening, said fire information officer Pat Cross. That means the fire that began 20 miles south of Big Timber doubled in size on Tuesday and again Wednesday.On Wednesday night, flames were burning to the south of Interstate 90 as far east as Reed Point, while the southeastern flank marched toward communities in the Absarokee area."A lot of the expansion has happened since the afternoon," Cross said. "It burned through most of the night (Tuesday) night, and there's no reason to believe it's not going to do that again (Wednesday night)."A home and two outbuildings were lost on West Bridger Creek Road in Sweet Grass County, said Kerry O'Connell, the county's Disaster and Emergency Services coordinator. She could not provide addresses, and further details were unavailable.Officials in both counties say it's likely that further losses will be discovered.A Type 1 Incident Management Team is expected to begin coordinating suppression efforts this morning.By 11 p.m. Wednesday, emergency officials estimated that evacuation orders had been delivered to more than 150 homes in Sweet Grass County and as many as 300 homes in Stillwater County, including the towns of Nye and Fishtail. Many other homes fell under alerts to be ready to evacuate."The winds are just awesome," O'Connell said. "It's hard to keep up when it goes this fast."Late Wednesday, the fire had jumped the Stillwater River in the vicinity of Midnight Canyon in Stillwater County and had involved the Grove Creek area south of Absarokee and north of Fishtail."We've got high winds blowing from the northwest and moving a 5-mile line of fire to the southeast," Ken Mesch, the Stillwater County DES coordinator, said at 11 p.m. "People are coming into our evacuation center saying they left just as fire surrounded their homes. At this point, I'd say it's very likely (structures were lost) ... but we have no confirmed reports."Tammy Milliken, who was assisting the county's public-information officer, said everything west and south of Absarokee, all the way to and including the Stillwater Mine, was under evacuation.The areas under evacuation in Stillwater County are Meyers Creek Road, Curry Flat Lane, Limestone Road, Cow Face Road, Stockade Road, Spring Creek Road, Stillwater River Road to Johnson Bridge on the east, the town of Nye, the Fishtail area and Grove Creek. Evacuees can check in at the county fairgrounds; livestock may also be brought there.Karen Tyra, the public-information officer for Stillwater County, said the county had also initiated pre-evacuation alerts for areas to the west of Columbus up to I-90. Areas under evacuation alert are Absarokee, Huntley Butte Road, Countryman Creek Estates, Yellowstone River Ranch Estates, Whistle Creek Road, Brumfield Road, Pine Hill Road, Jack Stone Road and Owl Canyon Road.Because the emergency notification system works via land lines, anyone who has received the message is encouraged to contact neighbors who rely solely on cell phones.Areas under evacuation in Sweet Grass County are Hump Creek Road, Mysse Road, Bridger Creek Frontage Road, Stockade Road, Main Bridger Creek Road to I-90 from the intersection with West Bridger Creek, Work Creek, Lower Deer Creek and West Bridger Creek. Later additions covered Pine Hills Road, Dillon Gulch Trail and Homestead Lane.The Stillwater Mining Co. canceled the Wednesday night shift at the Stillwater Mine near Nye because of concerns about travel conditions. The area was also included in a mandatory evacuation order.About 200 employees will be affected. Supervisors will decide at 3:30 a.m. today whether to call off the day shift. Employees scheduled to work today may call 406-322-8777 after 3:30 a.m. to find out whether to report to work.Absarokee schools were canceled today because of concerns about the fire's proximity, said David Huether, superintendent of schools. A girls varsity volleyball match against Red Lodge High School was also canceled. Schools were expected to resume classes Friday.The fire camp used as a base of operations near the I-90 Bridger Creek exit was partially evacuated at 4 p.m. because of encroaching flames, Cross said. Thirty firefighters remained behind to protect four to five houses, Cross said. Other personnel were allowed to return by 9 p.m.I-90 was closed between Livingston and Columbus from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. because of poor visibility. Transportation officials were to monitor the road throughout the night.Despite message boards in Billings and Bozeman, vehicles collected at interchanges in both Livingston and Columbus before turning back or searching for an alternate route, said Jim Stevenson, maintenance chief for the Montana Department of Transportation.Helicopters dropped water on the fire throughout the day Wednesday, and firefighters lit a large backfire on a heavily timbered ridge near Greycliff to prevent the fire from crossing the interstate.Tuesday night was long and scary as winds continually switched direction, pushing the fire randomly. Embers blew across defensive lines and spotted in heavy timber, Incident Commander Glen McNitt told a group of about 100 people at a public meeting in Big Timber on Wednesday morning."It became a plume fire that makes its own weather," McNitt said. "It created its own winds. It even created its own lightning. There was lightning in the plume last night."Fire rolled through canyons, blackening a mile an hour."Considering what we've been facing, it's burning so intense, it's more than most of us have seen in a long, long time, if ever," he said.Firefighters are facing the lowest fuel-moisture levels on record, McNitt said."Kiln-dried lumber has a 15 to 16 percent fuel moisture. Fuels here are down to 8 percent," he said. "They are twice as dry as what you get from a lumber yard."Some residents in the evacuation or pre-evacuation zones stayed put Tuesday and were hoping to hold out through today, which could be the most dangerous day of the fire."We're not going to take you out in handcuffs," Sweet Grass County Undersheriff Jerry Mahlum told those gathered for the public meeting at the Congregational Church. "We are going to ask you to sign a waiver that you've been warned and to let us know the next-of-kin you want notified."The Red Cross was supervising a shelter in the Big Timber Civic Center.More than 400 people were fighting the blaze under the direction of a Type 2 incident management team. Resources assigned include eight bulldozers, 24 fire engines and two helicopters. Two Type 1 Hot Shot crews were also dedicated to suppression efforts.For more information on the Derby fire, go to www.inciweb.org or call 406-932-3113. For local information on the evacuation status, call 322-8051 or go to Disaster and Emergency Services at www.co.stillwater.mt.us.Wednesday's warm temperatures and wind also kicked up the Big Creek fire near Livingston.The fire has burned 12,600 acres, according to the Livingston Ranger District of the Gallatin National forest.A helicopter has been dropping water on hot spots.Two single-engine air tankers were also to drop retardant on the fire's northern perimeter.A public information meeting about the Big Creek and Passage Falls fires will be tonight at 7 at Arrowhead School.Gazette reporters Lorna Thackeray and Lance Benzel contributed to this report. Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.