Fire crews have fully contained the Cahoot Fire, the last of three lightning fires which started on Tuesday night.
The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservations' Paula Short says a pair of DNRC helicopters and the 15-person Deer Lodge Crew finished containment lines and will continue with mop-up throughout the day on Friday.
Current plans are to release personnel at the end of shift today and the fire in patrol status by Friday evening.
The Cahoot Fire is located in the Miller Creek area and is in a relatively remote location. It burned roughly two acres and no structures were threatened by the fire.
Fire officials are also reminding residents that the fire danger in Missoula County is still at "high" and the general burning season is closed.
(from September 3, 2009)
Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation crews from the Missoula office were busy Tuesday night responding to a series of wildland fires which broke out after a thunderstorm moved across the area.
The DNRC's Cindy Super reports that the Baldy Mountain Fire, the Upper Woodchuck Fire, and the Cahoot Fire were all caused by a lightning storm that passed through the area on Tuesday evening.
"The storm had minimal amounts of rain that was fairly sporadic" said Super, the Fire Prevention Coordinator and spokeswoman for the DNRC Southwestern Land Office. Super added that aircraft will be patrolling today for more starts. "We expect to find more fires today," she said, "but we won't know for sure until after the patrols have been out."
Fire crews spent the night on the three fires, with largest of the three being the Baldy Mountain, south of Missoula. It's burned 13 acres of grass and is currently being mopped up. Meanwhile, the Upper Woodchuck Fire near Florence is two acres in grass and is also being mopped up.
The Cahoot Fire in the Miller Creek area of Missoula has been the most challenging. While it's burning about two acres, it's located on very steep slopes and in heavier fuel according to Super.
Fifteen firefighters from the Deer Lodge Crew flew into the fire area on Wednesday to help out the firefighters already on the ground. A DNRC helicopter spent the day pulling water from the Bitterroot River in Lolo to pour onto the blaze.
All of the fires were several miles from the nearest structures.
Additionally, the fire danger in Missoula County was hiked to "high" earlier this week and the general burning season has closed.
- Mark Thorsell reporting from KPAX in Missoula
A wildfire has broken out in the mountains east of Florence. The blaze is reportedly burning in the Upper Woodchuck area.
A witness tells us that the flames are clearly visible from U.S. Highway 93 and appear to be burning in a circle about midslope up the mountain.
The Florence Fire Department, The Missoula Rural Fire District's Lolo station and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation are among the agencies fighting the blaze, which was first reported to us at about 8:30 Tuesday evening.
- Mark Thorsell reporting from KPAX in Missoula
