Public meeting to discuss fire situation in Libby Aug. 26
The following information was provided by Carmen Thomason, public information officer for the Goat Rocks Complex fires.
A Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team assumed command of several fires on the Kootenai National Forest on August 23 and will manage them as the Goat Rock Complex under the command of Chuck Russell.
The Goat Rock Complex is a collection of the following fires:
Klatawa (KNF): 585 acres Vimy (KNF): 15 acres
Berray Mtn. (KNF): 374 acres Berray Mtn. 2 (KNF): 194 acres
Berray Mtn. 3 (KNF): 8 acres Berray Mtn. 4 (KNF): 1 acre
Chippewa (KNF): 140 acres Pine Ridge (KNF): 1 acres Poplar Point (KNF): 359 acres
Due to heavy smoke in the area, direct observations of fire activity on the Goat Rock Complex is difficult. This may cause individual fire acreage estimates to deviate from overall reported acreage for the Goat Rock Complex Fire.
A public meeting will be held for the Goat Rock Complex Wednesday August 26th at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will held in the City of Libby’s Ponderosa room 952 E Spruce St, Libby, MT.
Yesterday’s Activities: The Rocky Mountain Incident Management team stationed in Libby, MT continued to gather information and make fire observations. Ground crews discovered the Berray Mountain Fire 4 which is approximately 1 acre in size. Planning, risk assessment, and information gathering continued to ensure effective management of the Goat Rock Complex. The following fires are included in the complex; Klatawa, Vimy, Berray Mt, Berray Mtn. 2, Berray Mtn. 3, Berray Mtn. 4, Chippewa, Pine Ridge and Poplar point totaling an estimated 1,667 acres. The Incident Command Post is located in J. Neils Park and the park is still open for public use.
Today’s Planned Actions: The Incident Management team continues to gather information and monitor all fires in the Goat Rock Complex using both air and ground resources. Information about the size, fire behavior and fuels will continue to be collected to establish tactics for the upcoming days. The team continues to form trigger points to guide further actions and is developing a long term fire management plan for the complex. Evaluations are being done on the Klatawa fire in the Flower Creek and Granite Creek drainages to ensure protection of the watershed.
Forecasted Weather: Warmer temperatures and low humidity are expected over the next few days. Southwesterly winds are expected to increase creating the potential for critical fire weather conditions during the day and decreasing during the evening hours.
Closures:
Montana:
National Forest Service lands and trails in the vicinity of the Scotchman Peak Recommend Wilderness Area and Ross Creek area. This closure affects the following trails.
- 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 & 1021
- Granite Lake Trail 136
- Hamilton Gulch Trail 1019
- Napoleon Gulch Trail 1035
- Pillick Ridge Trail 1036
- Ross Creek Trail 142
- South Fork Trail 321
- Star Gulch Trail 1016
The following National Forest System Roads are also closed.
- Dry Creek Road 1118
- Pillick Flat Road 2702
- Goat Rocks Road 2289
- Berray Mountain Road 2272
- Jacks Gulch Road 430 (above private land)
Fire Restrictions:
Stage II fire restrictions are in effect for the Libby area. Stage II restrictions include:
- Building maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire.
- Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
- The following acts are prohibited from 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.:
- Operating any internal combustion engine.
- Welding, or operating acetylene or other torch with open flame.
- Using an explosive.
- A one hour foot patrol in the work area is required following cessation of all activities as identified in #3 above.
- Operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails.