Highlights: Cooperation between firefighters and local resource advisors is helping the incident management team meet resource objectives and agency expectations. During each shift, land management professionals from the Tonto National Forest are providing fire managers with insights on how to meet objectives effectively while serving the public and protecting values at risk. Under the guidance of the local agency, one of the objectives developed for the Middle Fire is to minimize impacts to heritage, natural, recreation, watershed and wildlife values. Coordinating with local resource specialists who are familiar with the terrain and values at risk has proven invaluable in working to meet this objective.

Operations: Yesterday, a structure protection plan was finalized and shared with the host agency. In the future, if a wildfire ignites near the Middle Fire, the Forest Service can use this plan to determine how best to protect structures in the path of that wildfire. A Type 3 helicopter flew a mission to repair a radio signal station, known as a “repeater,” that is used by firefighters to relay critical information across the fire area. When making operational decisions, fire managers are considering the challenges presented in the dynamic fire environment. Rugged, inaccessible terrain and the threat of flash flooding are two environmental hazards that may impact Middle Fire operations. Overall, fire activity has been minimal for several days, with afternoon thunderstorms and higher humidity expected to further diminish fire activity.

Highlights: The Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4 will transfer command of the Middle Fire back to the Tonto National Forest at 6 a.m. on Friday, July 16, 2021. This is the final update from the Type 2 Incident Management Team. The Team extends its sincere thanks to the local communities for their support and hospitality throughout this incident.

Operations: Firefighters will inspect road conditions and assess flash flooding potential prior to retrieving a Remote Automatic Weather Station (RAWS) from the Middle Fire area. A RAWS is a portable, self-contained, solar-powered weather station installed by firefighters to provide timely local weather data critical for firefighter safety and decision-making. On Friday, if weather conditions permit, the Type 3 helicopter will transport radio technicians to retrieve a radio signal station, known as a “repeater” from the fire area and return it to the Cave Creek Ranger District.

Weather: Rainfall totals across the fire over the past two days have been estimated at 0.75-1.00 inch as thunderstorms pushed through the region. Monsoon moisture will remain in place over the next few days leading to scattered morning showers with afternoon thunderstorms. This pattern is expected to continue through the weekend and into early next week. High temperatures will be in the lower to mid-90s with relative humidity dropping into the mid-20s to lower 30s. However, any precipitation at the site will likely keep the humidity higher than forecasted. Outside of thunderstorm influences, look for southwest to west winds at 10-15 mph each afternoon with mainly drainage winds overnight.

Safety: The health and safety of firefighters and the public is the first priority. The Tonto National Forest has issued a temporary road and area closure for the Middle Fire, available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/tonto/alerts-notices. Additional area closures are in place for other Tonto National Forest wildfires near the Middle Fire area.

Restrictions: The Tonto National Forest remains in Stage 2 Fire Restrictions until September 30, 2021, or until rescinded. Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in place to protect the public and firefighters, as well as National Forest System lands and resources, during a period of very high to extreme wildfire danger. The Stage 2 Fire Restrictions order, along with accompanying map, are available on the Tonto National Forest website. The temporary flight restriction (TFR) that is currently in place over the area will be lifted this evening at 6 p.m.

Smoke: Smoke from the Middle Fire and several other fires burning in central Arizona may be visible from nearby communities. An interactive smoke map at https://fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to zoom in to your location to see the latest smoke information. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures.

Future Information: The Middle Fire Information phone number and email address will no longer be active after 8 p.m. tonight. Any future fire information will be posted on the Tonto National Forest Facebook, Twitter, and InciWeb.

Media & Public Information Contact

Email: 2021.middle@firenet.gov •  Phone: (602) 428-5397 • Office Hours: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7622/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TontoNationalForest • Twitter: @TontoForest

By: MTN News

Posted at 12:18 PM, Jul 12, 2021 

and last updated 2:12 PM, Jul 12, 2021

GREAT FALLS — The Ellis, Balsinger, and Iron Mines Fires are now being managed as the Divide Complex. The fires have burned an estimated 2,500 acres as of Monday morning.

The Cascade County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday evening issued an evacuation order for residents of Belt Park due to fire activity northwest of Neihart. A community meeting will be held on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Neihart Community Center in the gymnasium.

On the Ellis Fire, there are four Type 6 Engines, two Type 2 Initial Attack modules, two dozers, and one water tender assigned to the fire, for a total of 86 personnel on the fire. Type 3 Incident Commander Marc Hamlen is working in conjunction with Type 3 Incident Commander Drew Brown on the Balsinger Fire.

On the Balsinger Fire, there are a total of eight Type 6 Engines, one Type 2 IA Module, and a water tender. A total of 33 personnel are assigned to the Balsinger Fire. Before 4p.m. on Sunday, there was little fire activity and the crews worked on reinforcing the fire line on Divide Road. However, the gusty winds in the late afternoon and the variable nature of the fire’s movement forced fire personnel to evacuate the area. There were spot fires one half to a one mile ahead of the main fire’s perimeter. The fire pushed northeast and then south, and the IC called for the evacuation of Belt Park. After the call for evacuation, the fire grew 1 to 1.5 miles moving downhill through old-growth sub alpine timber. As of early this morning, the fire had not crossed south of Divide Road, FS Road 839. A helicopter is making bucket drops on the spots this morning and afternoon mainly to the south of the fire’s perimeter.

A pre-evacuation order was issued for the Smith River corridor from Camp Baker in the south to Blacktail Creek to the north. On Sunday afternoon, high winds pushed the fire over the previously constructed line onto the Rockin C Ranch. The smoky conditions from the many fires in the region kept the fixed wings and LAT from completing their mission. This morning, crews are scouting for new locations to build fire line using handcrews and dozers. The smoke on Sunday made it challenging to get a more precise gauge of the fires’ spread.

A Community Meeting will be held Monday July 19, 2021 at 4:00 PM in Neihart Community Park. Seating is limited, individuals may want to bring their own chair.

Maps and updates will be available for both the Balsinger and Ellis Fires.

If you have specific questions, representatives from the Incident Management Team and the Forest Service will be available to answer them.

The Balsinger Fire and Ellis Fire are being managed as a complex. A Type 3 Incident Management Team is in command of the fire led by Incident Commander Zach Saavedra and trainee Brad Tausan. Safety of fire personnel and protection of human life is the priority. Mapping on Inciweb is out of date due to lack of IR flights for the last two days.

Operations:

The Divide Complex, consisting of the Balsinger Fire and the Ellis Fire, has a total of 209 personnel assigned. This includes three Type 2 handcrews, one Type 1 hotshot crew, sixteen Type 6 engines, one Type 5 engine, two Type 4 engines, one Type 3 engine, three dozers, one skidgen unit, and three water tenders. For the next operational period, resources on the Balsinger Fire will focus on securing/ mopping-up existing fireline, continuing fuels reduction and structure preparation along the Divide Road and providing suppression of the northern flank. If conditions are favorable, ignitions will be used to meet objectives. Structure assessments/preparation continues in the Belt Parkway area. On the Ellis Fire, mop-up and securing existing fireline continues. Some firing of green islands within the fire perimeter may occur. Two Type 2 helicopters and one Type 1 helicopters are available for bucket drops and other support missions.

Weather: Southwesterly flow aloft will continue to bring mid-level monsoonal moisture to the region tonight through Wednesday. Mostly dry conditions at lower levels will limit the amount of rainfall this evening but continued advection of moist air will bring a slightly increased chance for a wetting rain Tuesday night through Wednesday. There is a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon on Tuesday, bringing gusty and erratic winds to the region. Afternoon minimum RH percentages are expected to remain above 30 percent with fair to good overnight recoveries.

 Divide Complex Fire

(Balsinger and Ellis)

Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest July 21, 2021

Albuquerque Zone Type 3 Team

Zach Saavedra- Incident Commander

Information Line: (406) 272-6349, 8 AM - 8 PM

Important: The Balsinger Fire and Ellis Fire are being managed as a complex. A Type 3 Incident Management Team is in command of the fire led by Incident Commander Zach Saavedra and trainee Brad Tausan. Safety of fire personnel and protection of human life is the priority. Mapping on Inciweb is out of date due to lack of IR flights for the last three days.

Operations:

The Divide Complex, consisting of the Balsinger Fire and the Ellis Fire, has a total of 209 personnel assigned. This includes three Type 2 handcrews, one Type 1 handcrew, sixteen Type 6 engines, one Type 5 engine, two Type 4 engines, one Type 3 engine, three dozers, one skidgen unit, and three water tenders. For the next operational period, resources on the Balsinger Fire will focus on securing/ mopping-up existing fireline and continuing fuels reduction.  Multiple types of equipment are being used along the Divide Road to prepare for holding operations. If conditions are favorable, ignitions will be used to meet objectives. Structure assessments/preparation continues in the Belt Parkway area. On the Ellis Fire, mop-up and securing existing fireline continues. Personnel will rehabilitate firelines and collect/transport used supplies off the fire. Two Type 2 helicopters and one Type 1 helicopters are available for bucket drops and other support missions.

Weather: Expect a partly to mostly sunny start to the day today, with another round of showers and thunderstorms possible again during the afternoon and evening. Any thunderstorms could produce gusty, erratic winds. Winds should generally be on the light side outside of thunderstorms, but occasional gusts to 20 mph are possible tomorrow afternoon. 

Closures, and Additional Information: An area closure is in place for public and firefighter safety on the Balsinger Fire, https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/hlcnf/alerts-notices/?aid=67271 . From the junction of North Pilgrim Creek trailhead #304 following Belt Creek East to the convergence of Belt Creek and Tillinghast Creek, south along Tillinghast Creek to the intersection with road 6511, along the Harley Park Connector trail to the intersection of Road #586, then moving West connecting to Trail 347, following trail 347 to where it meets Trail 342, then following Tenderfoot Creek west to Trail 343, following Trail 343 to Trail 341,then North along Trail 341 to the intersection of Road #268 and Road 839, following Road 839 north connecting with Trail #304. Visit: https://go.usa.gov/x6SWS to view a copy of the closure order and map.

·        Sign up for emergency alerts at https://sheriff.meaghercounty.net/ and  https://www.cascadecountymt.gov/283/Sheriffs-Office

·        For wildfire preparedness information visit firewise.org and wildlandfirersg.org

·        For information about returning home after a wildfire, visit: www.ready.gov/wildfires#after

·        For information on air quality and smoke maps, visit https://fire.airnow.gov/ and http://svc.mt.gov/deq/todaysair/

Visit the following sites for more information on the fires:

Forest website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/hlcnf/         Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HLCNF

Ellis Fire: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7625/    Twitter: @LewisandClarkNF

There is a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) within 7 nautical miles of the Balsinger fire until September 9, 2021 at 1300.
No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM
NOTAM ID: FDC 1/6366

On Friday, July 23, 2021, at 6 a.m. the Southern Area Incident Management Gold Team assumed command of the Divide Complex (Balsinger and Ellis Fires) and the American Fork Fire under the leadership of Incident Commander Debbie Beard. The leadership from the Helena-Lewis and Clark and the Custer-Gallatin National Forests would like to express their sincere thanks to the Albuquerque Zone Type 3 Team and the national forest employees, cooperators and partners who have been supporting the fire suppression efforts.
 
Current Situation: Firefighters on the Balsinger Fire are securing and strengthening existing fireline and reducing fuels along the eastern edge and along Divide Road in anticipation of the fire’s potential movement in that direction. Structure groups along the Belt Parkway, 89-corridor area, are assessing structures and developing a protection plan. On the Ellis Fire, crews continue to mop-up and secure existing fire line and rehabilitate dozer line created during suppression efforts. Helicopters are available for support, including monitoring the fires by air.

On Thursday the American Fork Fire moved north into the 2017 Blacktail Fire footprint. Crews continue holding the fire off private land on the east side. Aerial resources continue to address slop-overs on the west and south ends of the fire. Crews are looking for opportunities to mitigate fire spread towards the Smith Creek and Shields Valley communities to the west.

Weather: On the Divide Complex, a RED FLAG WARNING is in effect today from noon to 9 p.m. After poor humidity recovery overnight, near critical to critical fire weather conditions are expected with wind gusts of 15 to 20 mph as relative humidity drops to around 15 percent. On the American Fork Fire, very hot temperatures will continue with poor recovery of relative humidity at night. Long-term drought conditions are anticipated to continue.

Resources: As of today, 189 personnel are assigned to the Divide Complex including hand crews, aircraft, engines, dozers, a skidgen unit and water tenders. The American Fork Fire has 85 personnel including multiple engines, dozers and hand crews with more on order.

Closures: Area closures, including trail closures, are in place on the Balsinger Fire and on the American Fork Fire (see links below). Temporary flight restrictions are in place on the Balsinger Fire and American Fork Fire.

Advisories:

• Do not fly drones over the fire. If you fly, we can’t.

• Please respect road closures. Traffic on closed roads creates safety hazards for firefighters and other vehicles.

• Firefighting resources are limited. It is critically important that we all do our part in preventing additional fire starts by following all campfire restrictions and fire-related closures.

• The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest and the Custer Gallatin National Forest are under Stage 1 Fire Restrictions, which includes the use of charcoal grills. The Custer Gallatin also has restricted campfires in all locations. Visit www.MTFireInfo.org for statewide fire restriction information.

Current Situation

On the Divide Complex yesterday, several spot fires caused the Balsinger Fire to grow past James, Horn and Tillinghast Creeks into Belt Park, where the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation order. Today firefighters continue structure protection, securing and strengthening existing firelines, and preparation work along Divide Road in anticipation of the fire’s potential movement in that direction. Their objective remains to keep the fire north of Divide Road. On the Ellis Fire yesterday, firefighters picked up hotspots and continued to repair and rehab firelines. Although winds will be lighter today, isolated torching is expected.

On the American Fork Fire yesterday firefighters started mopping up on the northeast and east firelines and worked to hold the fire on the top ridge to the south. Today firefighters continue suppression and firing operations towards the 2017 Blacktail Fire footprint where little fuel is available to burn. Firefighters are holding the fireline along the east and using aerial resources to pick up spot fires and aid suppression on the north, south and west edges. Crews will also be preparing for structure protection south of the fire.

Current Conditions
 
Under red flag conditions, the Divide Complex grew substantially on Friday. The Balsinger Fire made a long, sustained run north and east for about two miles, nearly doubling the size of the fire in six hours. Intense fire behavior with crowning and long-range spotting occurred. Firefighters worked to tie in a dozer line in the Wilson Park area to Belt Park for a solid containment line. Although the fire continues to push east, retardant drops in the grassy areas have slowed its movement. The evacuation order for Belt Park, issued by the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office, remains in place.

Today firefighters will reassess the fire perimeter to establish new anchor points, continue structure protection, secure and strengthen existing firelines, and work to keep the fire north of Divide Road. On the Ellis Fire, firefighters yesterday worked on rehabilitating interior line and patrolling for hotspots and anything threatening containment lines. The fire continues to smolder and creep, producing smoke. Tree torching is still possible. Today firefighters will continue to repair and rehabilitate firelines and hold and improve containment lines.
 
The American Fork Fire is actively spreading southwest into the Shields Creek drainage, home to the endangered Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Yesterday firefighters extinguished hotspots on the northeast side, made progress on handline on the southeast side, and worked with aircraft and handcrews to keep heat in check on the southern tip of the fire. Pockets of fire on the northwest side near Lebo Peak put up visible smoke. Today firefighters will continue suppression efforts on the east and south sides towards the 2017 Blacktail Fire footprint, holding constructed line along the east and preparing structure protection in the south. Aviation resources will pick up spot fires and aid in suppression on the north, south and west.

Weather

A red flag warning is in effect today with wind gusts 20-30 mph and low relative humidity. Tomorrow, more clouds with warmer temperatures are expected. Much-needed moisture and higher relative humidity may move into the region by the middle of next week.

Resources  
 
The Divide Complex has 207 personnel including crews, aircraft, engines, dozers and water tenders. The American Fork Fire has 149 personnel including crews, engines and a dozer. Recently ordered resources, which continue to be scarce across the country, are trickling in to the Balsinger Fire.
 
Closures
 
Area closures, including trail closures, are in place on the Balsinger Fire and on the American Fork Fire (map) including Big Elk Creek Trail and Trailhead. Temporary flight restrictions are in place on the Balsinger Fire and American Fork Fire.
 
Advisories 

• The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest and the Custer Gallatin National Forest are under Stage 1 Fire Restrictions, which includes the use of charcoal grills. The Custer Gallatin also has restricted campfires in all locations. Visit www.MTFireInfo.org for statewide fire restriction information.

• Firefighting resources are limited. It is critically important that we all do our part in preventing additional fire starts by following all campfire restrictions and fire-related closures.