Wind drives early fires

The wind came up and the fire crews got busy.

The Montana DNRC and the U.S. Forest Service responded to a pair of wind-driven fire starts last week and, with a little help from their cooperators, quickly put both of those fires to bed. Both fires broke out on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 23.

Northeast of Plains, a fire of undetermined origin took off a couple of miles up Henry Creek and quickly grew to over 20 acres. In the Montana DNRC's area of fire responsibility, the fire was initially attacked by a combination of DNRC and USFS forces, and the Lolo National Forest Hotshots were called in to assist.

A DNRC helicopter aided initial attack operations by utilizing the nearby Clark Fork River for bucket drops.

Between Plains and Thompson Falls, an escaped brush fire was staffed by US Forest Service firefighters, who limited that fire to half an acre.

Both fires were contained and put into patrol status by Wednesday afternoon. The Henry Creek fire was eventually mapped at 40 acres and burned mostly in grass and pine litter.

Although rains this week have temporarily knocked down the danger of fire spread, local fire managers are expected to begin the issuing of burning permits within the next few weeks.