InciWeb - Wildland Fire and Incident Information System

Approximate Location

Summary

The Jocko Lakes fire started from a lightning strike August 3, 2007, about ten miles west of Seeley Lake, Montana. Within two days, strong west winds blew the fire down the Placid Creek valley toward the community, evacuating hundreds of residents and directly threatening the town. Massive aircraft response and a weather change slowed the fire's growth. The fire was the top priority in the United States for several days; two national Type 1 teams managed the fire during August as it expanded to the north and the south.

The 36,060 acre fire has not grown since September 1st. Very little heat remains near the fire's edges, but until the snow flies, citizens will see occasional smokes coming from deep within the fire. A Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation incident management team is coordinating rehabilitation of the fire area, removing evidence of firefighting efforts. Fire supervisors of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes are managing the portion of the fire on the Flathead Reservation.

Crews restore firelines by pulling in the berms of bladed soil that bulldozers threw up. By filling in trenches and scattering brush, crews are obliterating the "handlines" they carefully dug when they were stopping the fire.

To slow water erosion, crews roughen the surface of firelines, add woody material, and try to restore dozer lines to original contours. Sawyers cut most of the roadside snags (dead trees) that threaten firefighters and the citizens who will eventually travel public roads in the fire area. Rehab details include repair of cut fences, damaged gates, fence posts, and culverts. Crews have backhauled equipment and trash from staging areas and helicopter sites around the fire. Heavy equipment contractors are mostly locals.

To prevent spread of noxious weeds, which the Forest Service has called "America's slow-motion wildfire," vehicle washes remove invasive weeds from all fire equipment before it enters the fire area, and after it leaves.

The Jocko road from Seeley Lake to Arlee, which passes through the center of the fire, remains closed as equipment and crews do rehab work. Areas around the fire remain closed, but roads to Hidden lake, Spook Lake, and Lake Elsina have opened. Maps of the closure are available at bulletin boards in front of the Seeley Lake Post Office and Chamber of Commerce, and at Clearwater Junction.

COOPERATING AGENCIES & PARTNERS: Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation; the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Lolo National Forest; Missoula County Sheriff's Office; Seeley Lake Fire Department; Missoula Rural Fire; Missoula County; Montana Department of Transportation; Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks; National Weather Service.