Bear Gulch Fire Update for 8-22-2008
Incident: Bear Gulch Wildland Fire
Released: 8/22/2008
Update
Bear Gulch Fire
August 22, 2008
Start Date: August 18, 2008 Contact: Gary Hoshide, Information Officer
Phone: (406) 266-4666
Cause: Under investigation
Location: Twelve miles east of Townsend and north of U.S. Highway 12.
Current Size: 755 acres Containment: 72%
Camp Tours: The public is invited to afternoon tours of fire camp on Saturday and Sunday. Tours will be at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., on both days. The camp is located at the Broadwater County Fairgrounds, east of Townsend. Please check-in with camp security at the main entrance to the camp.
Resources Assigned: Jess Secrest's Type 2 Northern Rockies Incident Management Team is managing the fire and 305 firefighters and support personnel are assigned to the incident. Three helicopters are assigned.
Closures: All area and roads east of the Broadwater County Road/North Fork of Deep Creek Rd (423) to the East Fork of Cabin Gulch Rd (423), south to US Highway 12, due to fire activity. The closure applies to National Forest System Lands administered by the Helena National Forest.
Current Status: Yesterday, firefighting crews continued to take advantage of the cooler weather. Afternoon thunderstorms returned with strong winds, accompanied by scattered rain showers. Good progress was made in fireline construction directly along the fire's edge and fireline was completed along the western, southeastern, and northeastern edges of the fire perimeter. Crews were supported by helicopters dropping buckets of water.
Planned Actions: Today, firefighting crews will work to complete remaining fireline. Crews will mop up burning fuels within 120 to 300 feet inside completed fireline. Helicopters will continue to support firefighter efforts. Suppression rehabilitation to reduce soil erosion will also be applied to burned areas.
Weather: Cloudy in the morning, clearing by afternoon. Temperatures for today are expected to be in the low 70's and humidity in the low 20's. Winds are forecasted to be west at 10 to 18 mph shifting to northwest later in the day.
Remarks: Motorists are asked to slow to 35 mph on Highway 12 near the fire area due to fire vehicle traffic and blind corners. With warmer weather returning over the weekend, the forest fire danger remains high.
Cooperating Agencies: Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), Broadwater County, U.S. Forest Service.
For further information, please contact http://www.inciweb.org/.
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