Wildfire burns north of Perma

A wildfire is burning north of Perma along Highway 382. As of Tuesday, the Clear Creek Fire had burned 300 acres and was listed at 10% containment. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CFKT) Division of Fire is battling the blaze, which is 1.5 miles north of the Perma Bridge.

CSKT released a statement saying "the fire is currently under investigation, but believed to have started by rock quarry equipment." A helicopter was among the equipment used this week to fight the wildfire, and a burnout operation was completed on Monday.

According to CSKT, no structures are threatened by the fire and no evacuations have been ordered. Clear Creek Road off of Highway 382, which runs from Perma to Hot Springs, is closed to traffic.

The Lolo National Forest this week reported that 32 of the 35 fire reports that crews have responded to this season were human-caused.

Earlier this month, The Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District responded to the Two Strike Fire in the Cherry Creak area southeast of Thompson Falls. The lightning-caused blaze burned less than an acre and was discovered by the nearby Eddy Mountain lookout.