Fires continue to cause alarm

Fires in the Kootenai National Forest have prompted additional closures and restrictions on roads, trails and campgrounds in the area.

According to a press release from the United States Forest Service, several trails and lands in the Scotchman Peak and Ross Creek areas have been closed.

The closed trails are: Berray Mountain Trail 967, Berray Mountain West Trail 1028, Big Eddy Trail 998, Blacktail Trail 997, Dad Peak Trail 987, Devils Club Trail 966, Dry Creek Trail 1020 and 1021, Granite Lake Trail 136, Hamilton Gulch Trail 1019, Napoleon Gulch 1035, Pillick Ridge Trail 1036, Ross Creek Trail 142, South Fork Trail 321 and Star Gulch 1016. Dry Creek Road 1118, Pillick Flat Road 2702, Goat Rocks 2289, Berray Mountain Road 2272 and Jack’s Gulch Road 430 above the private land boundary were also closed Sunday.

A new order was issued by Forest Supervisor Chris Savage Monday prohibiting access to National Forest system lands, trails and recreation sites north of U.S. Highway 93, east of Deep Divide Road No. 7066, east and south of Jaeger Mine Road No. 368 and south of Road No. 7065, Krinklehorn Trail No. 358, Krinklehorn/Locke Trail No. 96 and Whitefish Divide Trail No. 26. The Marston Road No. 900 was also closed north of the established barricade near Eureka.

A Type II incident management team has been brought into the area to manage a new complex of fires known as the Goat Rocks Complex. The complex is comprised of eight fires in the Cabinet Wilderness south of Libby.

The Poplar Point fire is the largest of the eight fires in the complex, at 330 acres. The Klatawa fire is next in size, at 327 acres. Three fires are burning on Berray Mountain, the largest of which is 180 acres. The second Berray fire is reported at 130 acres, with the final one at one-quarter of an acre. There are also fires at Chippewa (80 acres), Vimy (15 acres) and Pine Ridge (one-tenth of an acre).

The Type II team, under the command of Chuck Russell, arrived in Libby Saturday afternoon and established a command post at J. Neils Park. The team, as of Monday afternoon, was gathering information from ground and aerial resources in order to establish tactics for the coming days.

One new fire start was reported at the Rexford/Fortine Ranger District during the weekend. The Ginger Weasel fire is estimated at two acres, with a hotshot crew establishing fire line around the perimeter. Previous fires at Ural and Notagain have crews assigned to them and the Pinto Point and Tween fires are being monitored.

The Marston fire in north Lincoln County, part of the Northeast Kootenai Complex, has grown to 3,300 acres, with crews reporting five percent containment. Crews are continuing to construct fire line around the western edge of the fire. The Barnaby fire, also part of the complex, is being managed with aerial resources due to the difficult terrain, and is burning 42 acres with no containment. The final fire in the complex, Sunday, is at 90 percent containment with 60 acres consumed.

Murphy Lake has been closed by Fish, Wildlife & Parks due to the need for Chinook helicopters to fill their buckets from the lake.

In the Troy District, the Teepee Mountain fire has grown to approximately 350 acres. It is being fought with aerial tankers and ground resources were expected to arrive Monday.

Increasing smoke levels have adversely impacted both aerial and ground-based firefighting efforts. A fire weather watch was implemented Monday afternoon. Warmer temperatures and anticipated southwesterly winds are expected to create critical fire weather later in the week.