Wildfires begin breaking out on KNF

Firefighters are battling a blaze on Warex Mountain above Rocky Gorge that by Wednesday has spread to about 45 acres.

Believed to have been sparked by lightning late Saturday or early Sunday, the fire is located entirely on Forest Service land about 25 miles south of Eureka with the nearest private residence about 10 miles away, said Chris Fox of the Kootenai National Forest's Rexford Ranger District.

By mid-day Wednesday, the fire was estimated at 40-percent contained.

A 20-person crew from the Kootenai was joined on the fire Tuesday by a team of nine smokejumpers. Another 10-person crew from the Kootenai and a 20-person interagency hotshot team from Salt Lake City were expected to reach the fire Wednesday afternoon.

The fire is about a two-hour hike from Montana Highway 37, Fox said. A bulldozer was working Wednesday to open up an overgrown road to allow vehicles to drive closer to the fire.

Two helicopters are available to make water drops on the fire and deliver supplies to the crews on the ground, Fox said. An air tanker made drops on Tuesday but was diverted Wednesday to a fire near Missoula, he said.

The Warex fire is the first of any size this year on the Kootenai.

On Wednesday a small fire of less than a 10th of an acre in size was reported burning on the Cabinet Ranger District, and smoke had been reported west of Keeler Mountain on the Three Rivers Ranger District. More "holdovers" from recent dry lightning were expected, and reconnaissance planes were flying Wednesday to look for additional fires, Fox said.

Wednesday morning's overcast conditions and cooler temperatures were welcomed, but forecasts called for thunderstorms and gusty winds of 40 mph or more later in the day, Fox said.

"That's not good," he said.

High temperatures over the next several days are expected to reach the high 80s to low 90s in the valleys with somewhat cooler temperatures on the ridges. Humidity is 25 to 35 percent, with scattered showers and thunderstorms predicted.