A
Anonymous
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It's gettin' awful smokey here right now; don't know where the smoke is coming from, but the Ashland fire is a lot closer to us. It's supposed to be 95 with a forty mile an hour wind here tomorrow, so that won't help much.
Blaze near Columbus expands
By BECKY SHAY
Of The Gazette Staff
The Cottonwood Creek fire between Columbus and Park City had significant growth Saturday.
The size nearly tripled to about 3,565 acres through a combination of gusting winds and better mapping, information officer Lee Schmelzer said.
A county assist team, based in Lewistown, took over managing the fire Saturday evening.
While the managers took their place, fire crews had a slight reprieve because temperatures cooled and winds slowed, he said.
"Mid-afternoon had a pretty good growth for a while," Schmelzer said. But about 7 p.m. it was "kind of lying back down - for a while."
About 30 people are on the new management team, Schmelzer said. About 70 volunteer firefighters from Columbus, Park City, Absarokee, Nye, Molt, Reed Point, Laurel, Rapelje, Red Lodge, Fromberg, Joliet and Big Timber fought the fire Friday and Saturday. The Bureau of Land Management also sent crews. Schmelzer said the new management team flew over the fire to size it up and may "draw on some local resources."
The fire was reported about 5 p.m. Friday and is burning between Columbus and Park City. The blaze made wind-driven runs to the south and east Saturday. It is burning on ranch and state land, Schmelzer said. The Pinecrest subdivision, to the northeast, continued to be out of the fire's path Saturday but was still protected by an engine crew in case of shifting winds.
Some landowners moved livestock and bales Saturday, but Schmelzer said he was not aware of property losses beyond fencing.
Road graders and bulldozers helped cut firelines. Air support included two helicopters owned by the state, said Mark Heppler at the Billings Interagency Dispatch Center. Federal aircraft also flew over the fire, including a heavy air tanker and two single-engine planes.
The heavy air tankers made eight to 10 drops of slurry - that's 20,000 to 25,000 gallons of retardant. The single-engine planes made a similar number of drops, he said, accounting for between 6,400 and 8,000 gallons.
The fire sent up a huge plume of smoke Friday evening. That smoke was trapped in the greater Yellowstone Valley overnight, according to a National Weather Service meteorologist.
"(The smoke) kind of got socked in here overnight, and we're seeing the effects of that," Joe Lester said early Saturday afternoon.
The smoke abated as the day wore on, likely driven out by the same winds that pushed the fire.
Schmelzer said spectators are encouraged to stay off of roads around the fire.
"There was one report of people stopping on Old Highway 10 and nearly causing accidents," he said.
In other fire news, the Ericksons Spring fire, southeast of Ashland, blew up Friday afternoon but might be contained by tonight.
That fire started when lightning passed through earlier in the week, said Dena Lang, a spokeswoman with the BLM's Miles City Dispatch Center. Crews stayed on the fire as it moved into patrol status, but then wind and low humidity took over.
"It was just the right formula" to help boost the fire, she said. "It's a long and narrow fire, definitely wind-driven."
Mapping showed the charred area was about 2,700 acres Saturday afternoon. The size had been estimated as large as 4,000 acres.
Humidity levels improved, and cool weather overnight into Saturday helped hold the fire, she said. Crews "hit it really hard" on Saturday morning, Lang said.
Throughout the day, there was isolated torching in the interior of the fire and crews were reburning in some pockets of timber, said Amy Tague, lead dispatcher in Miles City.
Winds died down, and the fire settled Saturday afternoon, giving crews hope that they could have it contained by 6 p.m. today, she said.
"The fire is laying nicely, for them," Tague said.
Blaze near Columbus expands
By BECKY SHAY
Of The Gazette Staff
The Cottonwood Creek fire between Columbus and Park City had significant growth Saturday.
The size nearly tripled to about 3,565 acres through a combination of gusting winds and better mapping, information officer Lee Schmelzer said.
A county assist team, based in Lewistown, took over managing the fire Saturday evening.
While the managers took their place, fire crews had a slight reprieve because temperatures cooled and winds slowed, he said.
"Mid-afternoon had a pretty good growth for a while," Schmelzer said. But about 7 p.m. it was "kind of lying back down - for a while."
About 30 people are on the new management team, Schmelzer said. About 70 volunteer firefighters from Columbus, Park City, Absarokee, Nye, Molt, Reed Point, Laurel, Rapelje, Red Lodge, Fromberg, Joliet and Big Timber fought the fire Friday and Saturday. The Bureau of Land Management also sent crews. Schmelzer said the new management team flew over the fire to size it up and may "draw on some local resources."
The fire was reported about 5 p.m. Friday and is burning between Columbus and Park City. The blaze made wind-driven runs to the south and east Saturday. It is burning on ranch and state land, Schmelzer said. The Pinecrest subdivision, to the northeast, continued to be out of the fire's path Saturday but was still protected by an engine crew in case of shifting winds.
Some landowners moved livestock and bales Saturday, but Schmelzer said he was not aware of property losses beyond fencing.
Road graders and bulldozers helped cut firelines. Air support included two helicopters owned by the state, said Mark Heppler at the Billings Interagency Dispatch Center. Federal aircraft also flew over the fire, including a heavy air tanker and two single-engine planes.
The heavy air tankers made eight to 10 drops of slurry - that's 20,000 to 25,000 gallons of retardant. The single-engine planes made a similar number of drops, he said, accounting for between 6,400 and 8,000 gallons.
The fire sent up a huge plume of smoke Friday evening. That smoke was trapped in the greater Yellowstone Valley overnight, according to a National Weather Service meteorologist.
"(The smoke) kind of got socked in here overnight, and we're seeing the effects of that," Joe Lester said early Saturday afternoon.
The smoke abated as the day wore on, likely driven out by the same winds that pushed the fire.
Schmelzer said spectators are encouraged to stay off of roads around the fire.
"There was one report of people stopping on Old Highway 10 and nearly causing accidents," he said.
In other fire news, the Ericksons Spring fire, southeast of Ashland, blew up Friday afternoon but might be contained by tonight.
That fire started when lightning passed through earlier in the week, said Dena Lang, a spokeswoman with the BLM's Miles City Dispatch Center. Crews stayed on the fire as it moved into patrol status, but then wind and low humidity took over.
"It was just the right formula" to help boost the fire, she said. "It's a long and narrow fire, definitely wind-driven."
Mapping showed the charred area was about 2,700 acres Saturday afternoon. The size had been estimated as large as 4,000 acres.
Humidity levels improved, and cool weather overnight into Saturday helped hold the fire, she said. Crews "hit it really hard" on Saturday morning, Lang said.
Throughout the day, there was isolated torching in the interior of the fire and crews were reburning in some pockets of timber, said Amy Tague, lead dispatcher in Miles City.
Winds died down, and the fire settled Saturday afternoon, giving crews hope that they could have it contained by 6 p.m. today, she said.
"The fire is laying nicely, for them," Tague said.
that means lightening. Supposed to cool off starting tomorrow - as hot as it's been I'm half expecting fires to start by spontaneous combustion, it's sooo dry.
