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Fire Season on us in Montana

ranchwife

Well-known member
SW and FH----how close are all those fires to you folks??? Take care and keep us posted...remember that we are family here and we will be there is you need ANYTHING!!!

Just logged onto Montanasnewsstation.com and read about all the fires...heck, with satellite t.v. ya don't get local headlines and I had NO idea how bad it was.....got a brother-in-law who lives not very far from the "heights fire" outside billings...gonna have to call and see how they are doing!! :shock: :shock:
 

sw

Well-known member
ranchwife,
the fire straight south of us went to 50,000 acresin the 70 mph winds last evening. I think I better go down there and see if they need more dozers this worning. The northern edge of the fire is about 15 miles away.They called everyone off of it last night as the winds were so bad they couldn't stop it . The Hardin blazes are another 30,000 acres and out of control still. Highway 87, Billings to Roundup is closed because of the heights fire. I hate fires. Hanta took some pictures coming out of Billings Wednesday, maybe I can find them and post them.
 

Hanta Yo

Well-known member
Can also tune into www.billingsgazette.com and see pictures, too. On my way home from Billings on Wed (getting back from Reno) saw the fire on Railroad Creek Road, (before it got really big) took some pics, sw has them on the big computer, I think he is posting some. We can see the smoke from here, fire is scarey and we don't mess around, it's a good thing sw knows how to build good firelines, he is talking about going down there and hire out himself and the dozer if they want.
 

sw

Well-known member
fire2.jpg

The Bundy/Railroad fire Wednesday evening before the winds kicked in

fire1.jpg

Since then thay have clocked the wind at 70 and the fire has gone over 50,000 acres. This is on the gravel road we drive into Billings about 15 miles from us. No wind today, sure hope it does not start blowing from the south.
 

sw

Well-known member
Went down to offer assistance, BLM has taken over and they run off landowners cause we are too dumb, we fight fires at night when they are calm, things like that, things that require a little bit of common sense. Regulations for BLM, FS and any government agency says no to fighting fires after dark because of OSHA. It is right now 100 degrees and the humidity is 10%, luckily the wind is only at 6 to 10 the fires from across the river in Harden area are burning to the river, as are the ones from here. They may converge, right now it looks like they have the power to make their own lightning storms, I don't know if any of you have ever seen that in the smoke clouds, the power of Mother Nature cannot be overcome by mere mortals, the rancher I talked to today that owns the property where it started said that last night was one of those get your butt out of the way cause you ain't gonna stop this one. The view from the back porch looking south.


fire5.jpg


It does look like it can start its own storm, violent thunderstorm warning for Yellowstone County until 10:30, for all of us tommorrow
 

MsSage

Well-known member
Wild fire is something I have never had to deal with but, it looks scary. I hope yall have things ready to grab and
get your butt out of the way cause you ain't gonna stop this one.
Please keep everyone updated.
Yall are in my thoughts and prayers
 

Tap

Well-known member
I know how you feel sw. I have been at these deals when the forest service was in charge too. They seem to think they would rather outsmart the fires than fight them. The joke around here was that there used to be a fire "triangle". It took ignition, oxygen, and fuel to start a fire. Now there is a "square" formula. Ignition, oxygen, fuel, and the US Forest Service. :wink: :lol: They said the local FS boss was cooking bacon one time in his kitchen, and the bacon had been cooking too long and started to burn. The guy went into the living room and started a backfire to save the rest of the house. :!: :shock: :lol: :lol:

Seriously though, I sure hope they get the fires out over your way. I think mother nature will probably decide when it's time for them to go out,as usually happens with those huge fires.
 

Turkey Track Bar

Well-known member
sw, Hanta, and MCG...and others dealing with fire....

You're in our thoughts and prayers, and please take care of yourselves.

I've lived through prairie grass fire right behind our house (not this fire we just had, another a couple of years ago) and forest fire growing up in the mountains of Colorado. Although of the same specie (fire) they are different beasts. LA and I talked last night, and I don't know which is worse, but I'd almost rather have grass than forest, but grass fires move fast, seems faster than forest. But fire balls don't shoot from tree to tree in a prairie fire either, and without a doubt it is harder to get fire fighting equipment into a forest fire.

At any rate, please be safe and take care of yourselves.

We are very thankful for wonderful neighbors, great volunteer fire departments, and an excellent BIA group, "Land Op," out of Ft. Yates. Our volunteer department said their chief is a great leader and even better firefighter.

As always, you're in our thoughts and prayers....

Cheers---

TTB :wink:
 

sw

Well-known member
Thnaks for the concern everyone, things look fairly calm out there right now but we are supposed to be over 100 again today with wind and thunderstorms this evening. Maybe they will get some lines built this morning while it is calm.
Got to tell you this one Tap. In 2000 we had the same conditions and had a rash of lightning just north of us, they figured about 30 strikes that all burnt together. I got the dozer on the lines about 7 or so in the evening and started around the fire on the south and west sides where it would get to us if the wind changed. Hanta was here putting things in boxes, that's how close it was. Anyway, I did not have good lights on the dozer than, so our son (the Marine) rode with me and hung out the side with a spotlight so we could see where we were going. We connected with county roads on both ends, took us until about 6:00 the next morning. It was so dusty at times we would have to completely stop and let the dust go away so we could see again. We were caked in about an inch of dust
sitting on the side of the county road getting a drink of water and waiting to see if we were needed anywhere else on the perimenter before it satrted getting hot. Up drives a DNRC truck on the fire line we just built, with four guys in it, they stopped, the one guy got out and came over and shook my hand and said "I just wanted to shake the hand of a guy that can build a fire line like that in the dark". Then he say the spotlight and said "I sure hope you show up on all of the fires I'm on, and you did that with a spotlight, man you're good". They left, and we just stayed put for about another 15 minutes and another DNRC truck drives in, on the fire line we built, but this was the boss. He came over and chewed me out for 1) going through a gate instead of building the line straight as it would have cut about an acre more off of the fire side of the line if I would have just plowed through the fence, and 2) Where I first started I left about 30 yards not connected to the county road. He gorgot, that is where his people were sitting and watching in their trucks when I got there the night before. Not a thankyou, nothing but a get your dozer back there and fix those two places. He forgot also, you can't order free help around like that, we stayed put :wink:
 

Manitoba_Rancher

Well-known member
sw,

Its fellas like the head of the DNRC that chew you out that disappear when you have something good to dig a hole with.... :wink:

Sure hope you can get some rain (w/o) lightening to take care of thsoe fires.
 
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