Glacier Park fire expands to more than 4,000 acres

Powerful wind gusts rattled the glass walls of Glacier National Park’s St. Mary Visitor Center on Wednesday, propelling the Reynolds Creek Fire northeast along the edge of St. Mary Lake and fanning the flames over approximately 4,000 acres just one day after it was first reported.

Although the fire burned about 10 miles from the visitor center, a thick, gray wall of smoke unfurled above the park building, and 15 to 20 mile-per-hour winds blew steadily across the lake, gusting up to 30 miles per hour. A Type II Incident Command Team arrived from Idaho earlier that morning to battle the blaze, with a Type I Incident Command Team expected to arrive from Kalispell today to take over operations.

Multiple helicopters flew between St. Mary Lake and the scene of the fire, dumping water and fire retardant on the growing blaze. Crews on the ground were unable to dig fire lines or contain any portion of the fire, according to park spokeswoman Denise Germann.

“This is extreme fire behavior. Our priorities are fighter and visitor safety, protection of property and valuables at risk and containment of the fire,” Germann said Wednesday evening. “They’re not doing a lot of work on the ground because it’s not a safe fire situation. ... They set up at different anchor points to try to maintain it at those locations.”

Germann said she did not know how many resources were battling the blaze. Flathead National Forest spokeswoman Ema Braunberger confirmed Wednesday morning that the federal forest agency had committed two fire engines, planning and logistics officers, 20 hotshot firefighters and one helicopter. She added that five engines, equipped for structural firefighting, had been ordered from Flathead County.

Nearby campgrounds, including Rising Sun and Camp Mary, were evacuated Tuesday, and some areas outside the park came under a mandatory evacuation order from the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office. The west shore of St. Mary Lake was evacuated, along with other areas including the KOA Campground on the east side of St. Mary.

The visitor center closed to the public at noon Wednesday to become a staging area for fire crews.

On Wednesday the Montana Red Cross announced it had opened a shelter for evacuees at Browning Middle School. A press release from the organization stated that they would provide meals and snacks free of charge.

The town of St. Mary was being evaluated for possible evacuation throughout the day, but no mandatory evacuation had been ordered as of press time Wednesday night.

The fire was initially reported Tuesday at approximately 3:45 p.m. by park visitors and employees. It grew from two acres to approximately 300 acres in less than two hours, reaching an estimated 1,000 acres by evening. Overnight, it doubled to about 2,000 acres.

Other agencies reporting to the fire include Glacier County, East Glacier, Babb, St. Mary, Cutbank, Evergreen and West Valley fire departments, along with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and Blackfeet Emergency Management.

No injuries have been reported, although the historic Baring Creek Fireguard Cabin was consumed by the advancing flames. According to the National Register of Historic Places, is was the only surviving building from the Sun Camp Ranger Station, and was built in 1935.

The stretch of Going-to-the-Sun Road from St. Mary to Big Bend has been closed until further notice. Several vehicles were retrieved Wednesday after the fire began and the road was closed to Logan Pass, although one was reported destroyed in the blaze.

A red flag warning was in effect from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, owing to the dry, warm and windy conditions. The blaze is moving quickly in dry, heavy timber and extreme fire behavior was reported.

The National Weather Service forecasted wind speeds to drop slightly overnight, but to continue gusting as high as 29 miles per hour, with wind between 10 and 17 miles per hour through Friday. No rain is in the forecast until a chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday.