Forward progression of the fire has been stopped and crews will continue to work until 10:00PM and will resume at 8:00AM, 2 structures have been lost as the fire grew rapidly from the high winds. Currently the fire sits at 2200 acres.

December 4th, 2021- West Wind Fire Update 
MT DNRC County Assist Team (CAT)

This will be the final West Wind Fire Update from the DNRC County Assist Team.
 
Incident Objectives:
1) Protect human life. Firefighter, aviation, and public safety are of the utmost importance. Take necessary COVID precautions following CDC guidance.
2) Action taken should be evaluated and applied utilizing ‘Lookouts, Communication, Escape routes & Safety zones’ (LCES) principles.
3) Implement a safe and aggressive full suppression strategy utilizing direct and indirect attack tactics where and when safe to do so.
4) Protect infrastructure and structures as can be done safely. 

SIZE: 10,644 acres (acreage decreased due to enhanced mapping)
CONTAINMENT: 58%
CAUSE: Powerline FIRE LOCATION: 39 miles northwest of Denton,
MT INJURIES: 0
PRIMARY STRUCTURES BURNED: 25
EVACUATIONS: None
ROAD CLOSURES: Hwy 81 (Junction 80 to Denton) closed – detour via Lower Rd
PROTECTION: State and County OWNERSHIP: Private
RESOURCES: 140 personnel 

FIRE SUMMARY: The DNRC’s County Assist Team (CAT) was briefed by local authorities and assumed command of the West Wind Fire at 12:00 PM Thursday, Dec. 3, 2021. It is 10,644 acres, 58% contained, and located in Fergus County, mostly on private land, in and near the town of Denton. Damage to structures and property will continue to be assessed.

FIRE SITUATION: Yesterday crews made significant progress on containment and extinguishing hot spots near structures within the town of Denton. Snow overnight further increased fire containment. A public meeting was held the morning of Saturday, December 4 in Denton; nearly 200 people attended. Powerlines have been reenergized. Remain cautious of downed and low hanging lines. If you have needs and have been impacted by the West Wind Fire, contact Northwestern Energy at 800-550-4610. Residents are encouraged to check in with neighbors to ensure their safety and wellbeing during this difficult time. It is believed the fire will be mostly contained by the end of the day. Mitigation to extinguish and contain a smoldering grain pile in Denton will continue. This will be the final update on the West Wind Fire. 

12.3.21 INFORMATION:

WEST WIND FIRE Montana Dept. of Natural Resources & Conservation’s County Assist Team (CAT) Incident Objectives:

SIZE: 10,644
CONTAINMENT: 0%
CAUSE: Powerline
FIRE LOCATION: Near Denton, MT
INJURIES: None
PRIMARY STRUCTURES BURNED: 25
EVACUATIONS: None
ROAD CLOSURES: Hwy 81 (Junction 80 to Denton) closed
PROTECTION: State and County
OWNERSHIP: Private
RESOURCES: 177 personnel   

1) Protect human life. Firefighter, aviation, and public safety are of the utmost importance. Take necessary COVID precautions following CDC guidance.
2) Action taken should be evaluated and applied utilizing ‘Lookouts, Communication, Escape routes & Safety zones’ (LCES) principles.
3) Implement a safe and aggressive full suppression strategy utilizing direct and indirect attack tactics where and when safe to do so.
4) Protect infrastructure and structures as can be done safely.

Fire Summary: The DNRC’s County Assist Team (CAT) was briefed by local authorities and assumed command of the West Wind Fire at 1:00 PM Thursday, December 3, 2021. It is currently 10,644 acres, 0% contained, and located in Fergus County, mostly on private land in and near the town of Denton. Numerous departments responded to a mutual aid request upon initial response. A bridge and train trestle on the west edge of town were destroyed. Utilities were damaged, resulting in power outages.

Fire Situation: Today resources continue to arrive, and crews are working to secure lines around the perimeter to contain the fire and extinguish hotspots. A stakeholder and public meeting will be held on Saturday, December 4 at 10 am at the Denton High School (1200 Lehman St.) for interested parties. Upon initial assessment, 25 primary residential structures are believed to be destroyed, along with 18 secondary structures and 6 commercial properties. Damage from the West Wind Fire will continue to be assessed. Be cautious of downed and low hanging power lines, assume all lines are energized. Report any downed lines to 911. Power is expected to be fully restored today.

 West Wind Fire

Community Meeting

Saturday, Dec. 4th, 2021 at 10 AM

Denton High School Auditorium

1200 Lehman Street, Denton, MT

 Rocky Mountain National Park has lifted the closure for the Twin Sisters Area. This area had been closed previously due to the Kruger Rock Fire, which was located outside the Park. For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park, please visit https://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm. 

The U.S. Forest Service reduced the size of the area closure near the Kruger Rock Fire on the afternoon of 11/22/2021. Please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/arp/alerts-notices/?aid=70327 to view the new closure order and map of the closure area.

The Kruger Rock Fire remains at 147 acres in size. Firefighters achieved 100% containment of the fire yesterday afternoon.
Residents should expect to see some smoke and flames in the interior of the fire. Please do not call 9-1-1.
While the weather yesterday was cool with a few light snow showers and higher relative humidity, today will be warmer, drier, and windier. Winds today will mainly blow out of the west and southwest, and look to be strongest late this afternoon and through the night with gusts of around 30 miles per hour possible. Weather conditions are expected to be warm and dry through Tuesday, 11/23, with another chance for snow anticipated Tuesday night.
Firefighters will continue to improve and secure firelines today. Firefighters are principally engaged in mop-up, working in from the fire’s edge up to one chain (66 feet), where it is safe to do so. Please check out the morning update posted on InciWeb on 11/19/2021 for more information on mop-up. The steep rocky terrain, heavy dead and down fuels, and snags play heavily into considerations for firefighter safety.
There are fixed and rotor wing aircraft available today to support firefighters on the ground, weather permitting.
The area closures for the Roosevelt National Forest and a portion of Rocky Mountain National Park remain in place, and will be reevaluated daily. For U.S. Forest Service closure Information, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/arp/alerts-notices/?aid=70327. 
The number of personnel on the fire today is 111. As further progress is made, more personnel are likely to be released to go home in the coming days.
Unified command continues under US Forest Service and Larimer County today. However, transfer of command to a smaller, local incident management team is planned for tomorrow at 7 a.m. 
The Forest Service is will continue to provide general fire updates on InciWeb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7895/ and via social media (Twitter) until further notice. However, these updates will not be made daily. Follow updates on Twitter at @usfsclrd and @LarimerSheriff. Additional information may be found on Larimer County’s Kruger Rock Fire information page at https://www.larimer.org/kruger-rock-fire.

Kruger Rock Fire Information – 970-235-1141

Hermit Park Open Space remains closed until further notice. Please visit https://www.larimer.org/naturalresources/parks/hermit-park for the latest information.

At 5 p.m., on Friday, November 19, 2021, the Larimer County Sheriff's Office lifted all evacuations associated with the fire and opened all roads. Please visit https://nocoalert.org/ to see the latest information.
Hermit Park Open Space remains closed until further notice. Please visit https://www.larimer.org/naturalresources/parks/hermit-park for the latest information.

The Kruger Rock Fire remains at 147 acres in size. Containment is 85%.
 
Residents should expect to see some smoke and flames in the interior of the fire. Please do not call 9-1-1.
 
Some brief, light, snow showers moved through the fire area earlier this morning, but little snow fell. There’s a chance for more of these light snow showers throughout the day and into tonight. Winds may be breezy at times, but it will be considerably less windy than yesterday. Relative humidity will be much improved over yesterday, with healthy recoveries early Saturday morning and minimum afternoon humidity likely remaining above 40%. The fire area could receive some snow today and tonight. If these snow showers materialize, they could bring up to an inch of new snow. Winds will increase again on Sunday, mainly out of the west and southwest, and look to be strongest late Sunday afternoon through Sunday night. Weather conditions will otherwise be warm and dry Sunday through Tuesday, 11/23/2021, with another chance for snow anticipated Tuesday night.
 
Firefighters continue to improve and secure firelines today. Firefighters are principally engaged in mop-up, working in from the fire’s edge up to one chain (66 feet), where it is safe to do so. Please check out the morning update posted on InciWeb on 11/19/2021 for more information on mop-up. The steep rocky terrain, heavy dead and down fuels, and snags play heavily into considerations for firefighter safety.
 
There will be fixed and rotor wing aircraft available today to support firefighters on the ground, weather permitting.

Yesterday at 5:00 p.m., the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office lifted all evacuation notices for the fire area.
 
Larimer County announced yesterday at noon that the Joint Information Center is closed with no plans to reopen for this incident. Beginning today, the Forest Service will provide daily updates on InciWeb and via social media (Twitter) until further notice. Follow updates on Twitter at @usfsclrd and @LarimerSheriff.
 
The area closures for the Roosevelt National Forest and a portion of Rocky Mountain National Park remain in place, and will be reevaluated daily. For U.S. Forest Service closure Information, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/arp/alerts-notices/?aid=70327. 
 
Unified command continues under US Forest Service and Larimer County. Under unified command, the Forest Service is providing general fire updates, which can now be found on InciWeb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7895/. Additional information may be found on Larimer County’s Kruger Rock Fire information page at https://www.larimer.org/kruger-rock-fire.
 
Kruger Rock Fire Information – 970-235-1141