Single Publication

Incident Commander: Richard Griffin (Type 3 IC) and Kyle Errecart (Type 3 IC Trainee)

Location: 15 miles northeast of Wisdom, MT in the Sawlog Creek drainage

Start Date: 05/01/2025

Cause: Undetermined – under investigation

Size: 1,412 acres 

Resources Assigned: 5 crews; 5 engines; 2 helicopters; 1 water tender; 3 skidgens

Total Personnel: 205

Containment: 30%

CURRENT STATUS/PLANNED ACTIONS:

Containment of the Sawlog Fire has increased to 30 percent as firefighters continue to make progress along the northern, southern, and western edge of the fire.  There is still some residual heat along both sides of Sawlog Creek with isolated hot spots remaining throughout the interior of the fire. 

Strategic firing operations are planned today for an approximately 200 acres “donut hole” located on both sides of Sawlog Creek.  This fire suppression tactic has the highest probability of success for reducing the unburned fuels between the uncontrolled fire edge in the high “dead and downed” fuel component. Firefighters may utilize a combination of hand and aerial ignitions with the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). 

On the southern edge, firefighters will continue to hold and secure the constructed lines, hot spotting areas of residual heat from the Big Hole River to the east working north towards Sawlog Creek. Over the next couple days, crews will work with heavy equipment to construct fireline immediately adjacent to the fire’s edge from Sawlog Creek north towards the Tucker Creek area. 

On the northern flank, smokejumpers and hotshot crews continue to work containment lines as they patrol the fire and mop up any hot spots progressing south towards the Tucker Creek drainage. A helicopter has been supporting the firefighters with cargo missions on the eastern flank of the fire.   

Crews will continue cold trailing and hot spotting along the entire western perimeter of the fire.  This work will continue in the coming days as they reinforce and improve the containment line.

WEATHER, FUELS, AND FIRE BEHAVIOR:

The fire area saw some relative humidity recoveries last night with minimal fire behavior.  Warmer, drier conditions are expected today with an even smaller chance for showers or thunderstorms.  Breezy southwest winds could gust up to 25 mph in the afternoon.  There is a better chance for showers and a few isolated thunderstorms Saturday which may produce wind gusts of 35 mph or greater in the afternoon and evening. Another round of showers and thunderstorms are possible Sunday afternoon and evening with gusts exceeding 30 mph. 

Fire behavior may pick up today in the afternoon with the potential for thunderstorms, gusty winds, and low relative humidity. Fuel conditions, during this time of year (pre-green up), are extremely dry.

The fire is burning mainly in sagebrush and Lodgepole pine timber. The north-facing slopes in the area consist of a high “dead and downed” fuel component in a mixed conifer forest, and numerous “snags” or hazard trees are present. This fuel combination poses additional hazards for firefighters and affects on-the-ground progress.

Ensuring firefighter safety and protecting life and property are of the utmost importance during any incident.

The fire footprint from the 2021 Alder Fire is located to the east, and the fire footprint from the 2021 Christensen Fire lies to the south.

CLOSURES:

The Montana Fish, Wildfire and Parks has issued an Emergency Site Closure for the Fishtrap Creek Fishing Access Site on the Big Hole River due to fire activity from the Sawlog Fire. The site is closed to public use from Mudd Creek Bridge to Sportsman’s Park. 

For public safety reasons, the Bureau of Land Management has issued a temporary closure for the Sawlog dispersed camping area, located at the Big Hole River ford site. Specific closure language can be viewed on the Sawlog Fire Inciweb page, Closures tab.

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been implemented over the fire area. This allows for firefighting aircraft to safely work over the fire area. Firefighting aircraft and drones are a dangerous combination. Drones in the area could lead to accidents or slow down wildfire suppression operations. If you fly…we can’t.