Single Publication

Northern Rockies Team 3, Incident Commander Mike Behrens

Location: Three miles west of Stevensville, Montana in Ravalli County

Start Date: 8/23/2024

Cause: Lightning  

Size:   2,878 Acres

Completion/Containment: 25 percent

Resources assigned: 626 people

Key messages

• A community meeting will be held Saturday, September 7th, at 3 pm at Stevensville High School.
• Spotting from the fire interior continues to be a concern, crews are watching for spot fires.

Current Status

Firefighters built direct dozer and hand line on the northern perimeter in the Larson Creek drainage. Today they will mop up and secure the lines. Water from helicopters will cool the edge of the fire west of the dozer line. 

Control lines on the east side, are completed and are reflected on the fire map as a black edge. Firefighters will patrol, monitor, and mop-up as needed on this flank daily. 

On the south edge, five Hotshot crews held the fire north of the 739D road in the McCalla Creek drainage, supported by helicopter water drops. Firefighters installed hose lays yesterday to assist with mop-up along the southern perimeter. The rappel module constructed hand line along hot areas of the western fire edge near the St. Mary Trail, spiked out there overnight, and will continue working that section of line today. 

Slow fire progression west along the uncontrolled perimeter can still be expected. Further south, contingency plans are being created. 

Structure protection resources will begin backhauling equipment from the northern neighborhoods. Night shift resources will assist with mop-up on the northern and southern edge. They also have initial attack responsibilities. Aviation resources will check fire spread and support firefighters with cooling hot spots. 

Weather and Fire Behavior

A warming and drying trend will continue for several days. Temperatures will be in the upper 80s. Relative humidity will be 23-27 percent. Winds are expected to be southwest at less than 10 mph. Single tree torching will occur as fire reaches stringers of subalpine fir on the upper half of the face, with the potential for spotting up to a tenth of a mile. 

SMOKE

For the current smoke reports, visit https://www.airnow.gov/   

EVACUATIONS, RESTRICTIONS, CLOSURES 

The Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office has dropped evacuation orders for neighborhoods in the vicinity of the Sharrott Creek Fire. Download the Ravalli Co. Sheriff’s Office app for information or call 406-375-6650. The Bitterroot NF has issued an area closure from North Fork Sweeney Creek to Sweathouse Creek. See https://tinyurl.com/Sharrottclosure for the order and map. There are temporary flight restrictions (TFR) over the fire area west of Highway 93 from Bass Creek to Big Creek.