Single Publication

 Ridge Fire

 Location: 6 miles southeast of Hungry Horse

 Size: 3665 acres

 Percent Contained: 76%

 Cause: Lightning

 Start Date: July 30th, 2023 @ 3:45 PM

 Personnel Assigned: 219

Flathead NF Fire Restrictions Lifted & Hungry Horse Closure

Order Amended for Ridge, Doris Pt, and Tin Soldier Fires

September 1st, 2023 Daily Update

Doris Point Fire

 Location: 8 miles south of Hungry Horse

 Size: 1606 acres

 Percent Completed: 98%

 Cause: Lightning

 Start Date: July 30th, 2023 @ 3:45 PM

 Personnel Assigned: 16

Tin Soldier Fires

 Location: 17 miles east of Swan Lake

 Size: 8165 acres

 Percent Completed: 94%

 Cause: Lightning

 Start Date: July 30th, 2023 @ 3:45 PM

 Personnel Assigned: 84

Highlights:

Yesterday the Flathead National Forest announced changes to the closure order for Hungry Horse Reservoir. Please follow the links below for information regarding access to the area. Forest users are encouraged to watch out for fire personnel and equipment on the roadways and working in the area. The new closure order for the west side of the reservoir will be enforced. Additionally, fire restrictions were lifted for the Flathead National Forest. A type 3 team will assume command of the fire on Tuesday.

Operations:

Ridge and Doris Point Fires:

Yesterday the repair group worked on pulling in berms on contingency lines west and north of the Ridge Fire. The other divisions of the fire were inaccessible due to the rain event from the previous day. Crews will finish their repair missions today. On the Doris Point Fire ground resources backhauled pumps and hose, as well as identified sprinkler system locations and input them into a mapping database for future use by local fire managers. Firefighters also cut additional hazard trees around Lost Johnny Point resulting from the most recent storm system. Today crews will continue with those missions and monitor some heat sources on the south end of the fire.

Tin Soldier Fire:  

Yesterday ground resources assessed road systems in need of improvement and began road grading from the horse corrals near Spotted Bear Ranger Station moving north. Road grading will continue today along FS RD 895 across the bridge over the South Fork Flathead River. An excavator will begin repair of the fire line along Meadow Creek with crews working in the same area repairing hand line. Additionally, firefighters will clean up tree debris on roadways from the mechanical thinning and log skidding project along Meadow Creek. Smoldering fire activity is expected on the Bruce Fire.

Weather and Fire Behavior:
The weak ridge of high pressure will continue to build over the region today through Saturday. Temperatures will warm another 10 degrees compared to yesterday with southeasterly winds. Thermal belts will start to build each night.

Ridge, Doris Point, and Tin Soldier Fires: 78-83° in the lower elevations and 68-73° in the mid-slopes to ridges with minimum relative humidity at 30-35%. Winds on the Ridge and Doris Point Fires will be southeast 5-10 mph. On the Tin Soldier Fires winds will be southeast 5-10 mph with gusts to 15 mph.

Fire Closure:

The Hungry Horse Reservoir closure order changed to allow access to the east side of the reservoir and on the west side down to the Doris Point Boat Launch. The lake is now open for boating. The closure remains in place on the west side of the reservoir as firefighter presence remains, however the mandatory evacuation order for the Heinrude Community has been lifted. Residents of the Heinrude community need to contact the Hungry Horse Ranger Station at (406) 387-3800 to arrange access to their properties. For the most current information regarding evacuation status please visit https://flathead.mt.gov/department-directory/oes/emergency-management/ridge-fire-information. As firefighting efforts continue on the Ridge Fire, Doris Point Fire, and Tin Soldier Fire the closure is in place to provide for public and firefighter safety. https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/flathead/alerts-notices/?aid=82283

Additional Information:

Residents should stay alert for changing conditions and visit https://www.ready.gov/wildfires for preparing for wildfires. Information for the Ridge, Doris Point, and Tin Soldier Complex Fires is found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/mtfnf-ridge-fire.

Fire Information: 406-998-6074 (8:00 am to 7:00 pm)                                     

Email: 2023.ridge@firenet.gov

https://www.facebook.com/ridge.fire.information                              https://www.youtube.com/@2023ridgefire