Weather: Wind gusts up to 30 mph hit the Goat Rocks Fire area as a weather system moved in Friday morning. Rain followed the wind, with rainfall totals of 0.7 inches or more on the fire as of 6 a.m. today. This was a “wetting rain”, enough to make it through the canopy of tree branches down to the forest floor.

Rainy, windy weather is expected again today.  Temperatures will stay in the 30s and 40s, with winds gusting up to 25 mph on the ridges. Over the coming days, more rain and cool temperatures are in the forecast.

Yesterday: Firefighters patrolled Forest Roads 46 and 41, checking that the fire did not cross the roads in the Dam Creek and Lake Creek drainages. The western tip of the fire in Coal Creek drainage was checked, with no heat found.

Crews pulled surplus hoses and other equipment from some contingency lines and hauled it to central locations for return to fire camp. Heavy equipment continued to move woody debris and slash piles from Forest Roads 1266 and 41. Firefighters patrolled the neighborhoods west of the fire.

Today: Fire personnel will patrol and monitor the fire area, including areas near structures and Packwood Lake.  Firefighters are limiting their time spent in burned areas to avoid the hazards of blown-down trees and rolling debris. Western Hemlock trees have shallow roots which can be damaged by fire. Trees that are green and look healthy have been falling without warning, especially when it’s windy. Rocks and large chunks of wood are rolling down steep slopes onto roads, creating hazards for personnel and vehicles.

More hoses and other equipment are being removed from fire lines where they are no longer needed. Backhaul of surplus items from the fire line to fire camp continues.

Although fire suppression work has slowed, fire personnel are beginning another phase of activity. They are starting on repair work, including projects necessary to stabilize soils and mitigate damage caused by firefighting efforts. Currently, they are clearing debris out of ditches and culvert inlets to ensure proper drainage when it rains.

Today, Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team (CIMT) 3 will be shadowing the current organization managing the Goat Rocks Fire, in preparation for tomorrow’s transfer of command.
 
EVACUATION LEVEL 2 – BE SET!     

All areas north of Butter Creek are at Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation. This includes Upper and Lower Timberline, Goat Rocks, Riverdance, and parts of High Valley. This is precautionary due to Goat Rocks Fire behavior. Packwood proper is not under evacuation status at this time. See accompanying Public Information map.

Monitor https://bit.ly/LewisCountyAlerts or https://bit.ly/LewisCountyEMFB for changes.

Forest Closures: A road and trail closure within the Gifford National Forest is in place. Closure order: https://bit.ly/GoatRocksClosureOrder  Closure map: https://bit.ly/GoatRocksFireClosureMap

Special Note: A new incident management team arrived and will begin transitioning with the current team. On Saturday the 22nd, Rocky Mountain CIMT will shadow the outgoing organization to ensure a smooth and thorough transition. On Sunday, October 23rd at 7 a.m., an orderly transition of command will take place from the current organization to Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team (CIMT) 3. In addition to the Goat Rocks Fire, Rocky Mountain CIMT 3 will also be managing the Sunset and Siouxon fires located on the southern portion of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Yesterday: Containment increased to 8% after extending work along Forest Road 4612 between the Coal Creek and Purcell Creek drainages. There is no update in acreage today because the infrared plane was unable to fly last night. The Goat Rocks Fire area and the residents of the city of Packwood saw much needed relief from the smoke inversion for the first time in weeks. Fire activity was mainly occurring within the existing fire perimeter, burning out patches of unburned fuel. Crews were able to engage the fire along the containment lines as needed.

Heavy equipment continued to move woody debris and slash piles along Forest Roads 1266 and 41.

Today: Due to the incoming weather system including high winds, firefighter safety will be the main concern. This weather system presents additional hazards to firefighting resources such as falling trees, cold exposure, slippery roads and rockfall.

Fire personnel will continue patrolling the fire perimeter and cooling hotspots when it is safe to do so. Engines will remain staged within the local communities to ensure ongoing protection.

Weather: Today a low-pressure weather system will move into the area and begin to produce much needed precipitation. Gusty winds may occur ahead of the stormfront and increase the risk for hazardous tree falls. This weather is expected to bring enough precipitation to significantly impact fire activity on the Goat Rocks Fire. Over the coming days, multiple low-pressure systems will continually impact the area bringing much needed relief to both smoke impacts and fire growth.
  

EVACUATION LEVEL 2 – BE SET!     

All areas north of Butter Creek are at Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation. This includes Upper and Lower Timberline, Goat Rocks, Riverdance, and parts of High Valley. This is precautionary due to Goat Rocks Fire behavior. Packwood proper is not under evacuation status at this time. See accompanying Public Information map.
Monitor https://bit.ly/LewisCountyAlerts or https://bit.ly/LewisCountyEMFB for changes.

Forest Closures: A road and trail closure within the Gifford National Forest is in place. Closure order: https://bit.ly/GoatRocksClosureOrder

Closure map: https://bit.ly/GoatRocksFireClosureMap 

Yesterday: The Goat Rocks Fire area continued to be impacted by smoke for much of the day with the Coal Creek and Lake Creek drainages seeing some of the densest smoke impacts. Containment increased to 4% after extensive work along the ridge between the Coal Creek and Lake Creek drainages. Poor visibility continues to limit air operations over much of the fire area. A large Type 1 helicopter was able to drop water on the fire for a short period in the afternoon in the Lake Creek drainage.

Heavy equipment moved from the 46 road system to Forest Roads 1266 and 41 to start woody debris removal in that corridor.

Today: Fire activity has diminished over the northern section of the fire footprint over the past few days. Resources are patrolling the Forest Road 46 system, cooling fire by the roads.  Engines are patrolling around the structures and testing pumps and hoses.

Many of the firefighting resources have been moved to Division A, on the southwest side of the fire, to help increase contingency lines in the Lake Creek drainage. Crews continue to engage the fire near the Three Peaks trail system where it is safe to do so with both water and handline. Due to steep terrain and heavy fuel loading, the fire is expected to continue to smolder in the thick duff layers, burning roots and large logs.

Structures near Packwood Lake in the Lake Creek drainage have been prepared with fire resistant shielding and fuels have been removed to reduce the risk to the structures should fire move into that area.

Weather: Today will be a weather transition day. The first half of the day will continue to see the smoke inversion linger. The inversion is expected to lift mid-day. The approaching weather system may bring erratic winds, with winds out of the southwest up to 25 mph on the ridge tops and winds of 4-8 mph with gust up to 12 on the lower slopes. A series of storms will enter the area starting Friday bringing much needed precipitation to the fire area.

EVACUATION LEVEL 2 – BE SET!     

All areas north of Butter Creek are at Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation. This includes Upper and Lower Timberline, Goat Rocks, Riverdance, and parts of High Valley. This is precautionary due to Goat Rocks Fire behavior. Packwood proper is not under evacuation status at this time. See accompanying Public Information map.

Monitor https://bit.ly/LewisCountyAlerts or https://bit.ly/LewisCountyEMFB for changes.

Forest Closures: A road and trail closure within the Gifford National Forest is in place. Closure order: https://bit.ly/GoatRocksClosureOrder
Closure map: https://bit.ly/GoatRocksFireClosureMap

Yesterday: The Goat Rocks Fire area was enveloped in a smoke inversion for much of the day. This stagnant air moderated fire activity but restricted air operations due to poor visibility. A helicopter was able to drop water on the fire for a short period in the afternoon.

As the helicopter was returning to helibase, an unmanned aerial system (UAS or drone) was spotted near the fire. UAS incursions are very dangerous for aircraft working on the fire. Pilots may not see a UAS in time to avoid a collision, which may damage an aircraft and possibly cause a crash. A UAS too close to a fire requires a shut-down of ALL aerial operations.

Fire personnel worked on the western tip of the fire near Coal Creek. Minimal smoke was visible in this area by the end of Tuesday’s work shift. Engine crews on the northern edge near Forest Road 46 kept fire from crossing the road. Fire continued to spread in the upper Lake Creek drainage, with burning debris rolling downslope toward Forest Road 041.

Today: The smoky inversion is expected to lift in the afternoon and fire activity may increase as fresher air circulates into the fire area. When conditions allow for safe operations, helicopters will drop water in the Coal Creek and Lake Creek drainages to cool the fire.

Fire resources will continue to extinguish remaining hot spots in the lower Coal Creek drainage. Residual pockets of heat are likely to be found in places including thick duff layers, burning roots, and large logs. These may smolder for a long time without producing obvious smoke.

Personnel will be monitoring fire along Forest Road 041 in the upper Lake Creek drainage. Rocks and burning woody debris are rolling down steep slopes to the road, making work in this area very hazardous. As of early this morning, fire had not crossed the road.

Engines will work along Forest Road 46 near Dam Creek, keeping fire south of the road. Heavy equipment will be moving from the 46 system to Forest Road 1266 to start woody debris removal in that corridor. This debris is from cutting and piling brush and smaller trees along roads. Fuels reduction of this type prepares roads for use as fire lines to slow or stop fire spread.

Weather:  Today is expected to be the last day with warm, very dry conditions due to a high-pressure ridge over the Pacific Northwest. High temperatures are forecast in the 70s with relative humidity dropping to near 20%. On Thursday, onshore flow will start to bring cooler, more humid air into the region. A series of weather systems are forecast to bring rain and cooler temperatures starting Friday.

EVACUATION LEVEL 2 – BE SET!    

All areas north of Butter Creek are at Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation. This includes Upper and Lower Timberline, Goat Rocks, Riverdance, and parts of High Valley. This is precautionary due to Goat Rocks Fire behavior. Packwood proper is not under evacuation status at this time. See accompanying Public Information map.

Monitor https://bit.ly/LewisCountyAlerts or https://bit.ly/LewisCountyEMFB for changes.

Forest Closures: A road and trail closure within the Gifford National Forest is in place. Closure order: https://bit.ly/GoatRocksClosureOrder
Closure map: https://bit.ly/GoatRocksFireClosureMap

Due to multiple ongoing hazardous operations requiring the use of heavy equipment from several agencies the following roads will have closures:

• A road closure is at the intersection of Mosquito Ridge Road and Foresthill Road from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily until further notice. Once reached the Forest boundary the area and road is closed to all access.

o This CLOSURE will remain in effect each day until equipment has exited the roadway. Once the closure hours are in effect, anyone remaining in the area will not be able to leave until after 4 p.m. Please plan accordingly. No other access will be granted. This closure is necessary to ensure public safety as numerous pieces of large, heavy equipment, and personnel on foot will be operating in this area mitigating hazard trees and repairing utility infrastructure.

• Eleven Pines Road is closed at its intersection with Wentworth Springs Road.

• French Meadows Road is closed at its intersection with Finning Mill Road.

• Iowa Hill Road is closed at Forest Service Boundary

Access may be granted with proof of residency or with a permit issued by the respective Forest.

For more information on the Eldorado National Forest closures please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/eldorado

For more information on Tahoe National Forest closures please visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/tahoe

Updates on the Kootenai River Complex will be provided with less frequency or as operations change.

Estimated Size: 25,402 acres          Completion: 87%          Personnel: 54

Highlights: The Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in place for air space over the Russell Mountain Fire (2-5373) is lifted as of Saturday, October 22, at 8:00 a.m.

The Forest Service closure orders around the Complex include off-trail and off-road land in addition to specified roads and trails. Please avoid all areas within the closures for your safety due to active fire and other associated hazards. 

This weekend, a weather pattern change is expected, bringing rain, snow, and much cooler temperatures, which will significantly slow and stop the fires. Fire management actions are reflective of the current conditions and predicted weather. 

Operations: In anticipation of the weather shift, firefighters have removed pumps, hoses, sprinklers, and water tanks that are no longer needed before conditions make it difficult to do so. Fire managers have been communicating with landowners as this takes place. As weather permits, the remainder of this equipment will be removed in the coming days. Crews will continue to monitor and cool the fire’s edge, and the control lines are holding where the fire has slowly backed down to it. The structure wrap previously installed around the Burton Peak Lookout to protect it from the fire was removed and flown out by helicopter on Thursday. 

Rehabilitation work continues on control lines, including reseeding, installing water bars for erosion control, and pulling lines back in. Crews are working with homeowners for those that want to leave the line in place on their property. 

The Long Canyon and Katka fires remain unstaffed, and firefighters continue to monitor them from the air and lookout points.

Weather: A major pattern change will begin Friday as the first of many wet systems move into the region. The next week will feature multiple periods of rain, mountain snow, breezy winds, and much cooler temperatures. Snow levels will lower to around 3500 to 4000 feet Friday and Saturday, and to near 3000 feet Saturday night into Sunday  morning. A wetting rain is likely for the fire with near a half inch of precipitation forecast from Friday through the weekend. Winds will be south-southwest and breezy through Friday evening.  

Closures: The following National Forest Trails and Roads are closed: Ball Creek Road (FR 432), Trout Creek Road (FR 634), Cascade Creek Road (FS 2411), Russell Mountain Trail (No. 12), Russell Ridge Trail (No. 92), Ball and Pyramid Lakes Trail (No. 43), Pyramid Pass Trail (No. 13), Pyramid Peak Trail (No. 7), Fisher Peak Trail (No. 27), Trout Lake Trail (No. 41), Myrtle Peak Trail (No. 286), Burton Peak Trail (No. 9), Parker Ridge Trail (No. 221) and Long Canyon Trail (No. 16).

Evacuations: There are NO evacuations currently in place and all pre-evacuation status’ have been removed. To learn more about READY SET GO, visit https://bit.ly/3wi0jMu.

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR): There are no TFRs in place as of Saturday, October 21 at 8:00 a.m.

INCIDENT COMMANDER: Cache Gibbons

October 25, 2022

Trail Ridge Fire

Fire Summary

Approx. 5 miles SE Sula, MT

Approx. 11 miles NW of Big Hole National Battlefield

Size: 18,138 acres Completion: 80%

Personnel: 37

CURRENT STATUS

The Trail Ridge Fire is burning on the Wisdom District of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and the Darby-Sula District of the Bitterroot National Forest.  A Type 4 team assumed command of the fire October 19, 2022.  The incoming Incident Commander is Cache Gibbons with Incident Commander (t) Cody Hoover.  Both are from Bitterroot National Forest, Darby Ranger District.

 

Currently the fire is 18,138 acres.  On Saturday, October 22, the fire received a wetting rain with snow starting around 3,800 feet.  This moisture has considerately dampened fire activity.  With more moisture expected over the fire in the coming days the fire will likely continue to smolder and put up very little smoke.  Today fire officials will reassess conditions and begin repair work where needed.

 

The main objective for this fire continues to be firefighter and public safety.  Other primary objectives include keeping the fire    from impacting private lands and values along Highway 93 and East Fork of the Bitterroot corridors utilizing point protection and indirect lines where needed. Suppression repair work will continue if needed.

 

 

FIRE WEATHER AND BEHAVIOR

Today will be mostly sunny with a chance of a rain snow mix this afternoon. Highs will be in the 40’s with winds south southeast 5-10 mph.  Gusts could be as high as 21 mph.  Tonight will have a low of around 21, with winds gusts as high as 21 mph.  Chance of precipitation will be 90%. Moisture will continue throughout this week.   

TRAIL RIDGE CLOSURES AND SPECIAL MESSAGES

Trail Ridge Closure has been rescinded effective October 24, 2023

 

 

This will be the last update for the Trail Ridge Fire.  If you want information, please call the Darby RD or the Wisdom RD.

 

  Information:  Darby RD                                                                                                  Bitterroot National Forest 406.821.3913 Wisdom RD                                                                                             Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest 406.689.3242

 Trail Ridge Fire Order 22-D2-07 rescinded effective October 24, 2022

 Closure Order Rescinded October 24, 2022

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE
 

BITTERROOT NATIONAL FOREST DARBY RANGER DISTRICT 
BEAVERHEAD-DEERLODGE NATIONAL FOREST WISDOM RANGER DISTRICT

Supervisor’s Order

Pursuant to Title 36 CFR 261.50(a) and (b), the prohibition listed in Order number 22-D2-07

TRAIL RIDGE FIRE AREA CLOSURE, applicable to the Darby-Sula Ranger District,

Bitterroot National Forest, dated September 22, 2022, and signed by Matthew D. Anderson, is

hereby terminated effective October 24, 2022.

INCIDENT COMMANDER: Cache Gibbons

October 24, 2022

Trail Ridge Fire

Fire Summary

Approx. 5 miles SE Sula, MT

Approx. 11 miles NW of Big Hole National Battlefield

Size: 18,138 acres Completion: 80%

Personnel: 37