High humidity helps firefighters battling Rogers Mountain wildfire on Monday

The Rogers Mountain wildfire was “sitting at 68 acres” Monday afternoon according to a fire official who said the day’s high humidity had assisted firefighters assigned to the blaze.

Crews spent part of the day creating a line around the fire with help from dozers and handcrews, said Logan Sandman, a fire manager with the Libby unit of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

“We’re seeing some better outcomes than we did yesterday,” he said, adding that the fire was “still a safe distance” from populated areas as of 4 p.m. Monday.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department Sunday afternoon notified residents north of Highway 2 and Happy’s Inn about the advance of the wildfire aside Rogers Mountain, advising they be ready in case the fire worsened and began to threaten homes.

Sunday evening, however, Sheriff Roby Bowe said the fire “has a long ways to go before anyone is in imminent danger.”

Fire officials believe the fire — one of several to develop in the area over the weekend — was caused by lightning Friday night.

“There are several other fires in the area, but the Rogers Fire is the highest priority at this time,” Ali Ulwelling, spokesperson for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, said Sunday afternoon.

By Sunday morning the fire had consumed 40 acres of timber, brush and grass situated on steep slopes and dried out by high temperatures and lack of moisture. By 8 p.m. Sunday it was estimated to be 50 acres in size.

Ulwelling said the fire made a push in the afternoon, moving south toward communities north of Highway 2 and northwest of Happy’s Inn. The action prompted DNRC fire managers to recommend that the Sheriff’s Department issue pre-evacuation notices to residents.

The Sheriff’s Department decided not to go that route, which would have entailed reverse 911 calls in the first step taken toward full evacuation, should it be required. Bowe said the steps the department took in advising residents Sunday afternoon were essentially what happens during a formal pre-evacuation notice.

“The chances of anything happening the next few days is really slim,” Bowe said, acknowledging that conditions could always change depending upon weather and other factors.

Single-engine air tankers worked the perimeter and attempted to slow the fire’s spread Sunday afternoon and heavy air tankers were ordered, Ulwelling said, adding that “demand for resources is high, but this has become a priority fire.”

Other fires in the DNRC Libby unit included one on Grubb Mountain, which Monday afternoon was 15 acres, lined and being mopped up by firefighters from the inside, Sandman said. The DNRC also dealt with a series of smaller fires of 1 acre or fewer.

The DNRC battled a series of fires in its Kalispell unit as well, including a fire of at least 8 acres in northwest Meadow Peak and a fire that started in Sunday evening in Spring Creek amidst a 1.5 acre stand of lodgepole pine.

But the DNRC biggest battle has been the Lazier Creek 3 fire in its Plains unit. Also thought to have been caused by lightning Friday night, it grew from 80 acres Sunday morning to more than 400 acres by Sunday afternoon and in excess of 1,000 acres on Monday. Actively burning in grass, brush and timber, the fire caused a smoke plume visible from Kalispell.

On Monday Sanders County Sheriff’s Office deputies evacuated cabins and homes threatened by the fire, which was burning near the Bend Guard station northeast of Thompson Falls.

“Firefighters are working hard to contain multiple fires using engines, water tenders and helicopters,” the report states. “Heavy tankers and ‘Super Scoopers’ have been ordered. A helibase has been established at Lost Prairie for aircraft assigned to the fire.”

In addition to DNRC units, agencies involved in the firefighting efforts include the Flathead National Forest, Kootenai National Forest and local government agencies.

Monday morning, Willie Sykes, spokesperson for Kootenai National Forest, said that his agency had sent a 20-person crew, two engine modules and overhead resources to assist with the firefighting efforts in the Libby unit.

Ulwelling said a Type II incident command team would arrive by Monday morning to manage the number of fires in the area.

The report also states that some of the fires “have high potential for growth depending on the weather and winds over the next couple of days.”

Noting that a recorded 96 degrees on Saturday broke a previous 94-degree temperature from 1964, the report continues: “High temperatures combined with low fuel moistures created conditions where wildfires have potential to grow quickly.”

“A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warmer than normal temperatures have contributed to escalating fire potential,” said Sandman. “We received lower than average precipitation for the month of June, and the fire potential is a couple weeks ahead of what we normally see at our lower elevation areas.”