Quick response extinguishes wild fire near Libby Dam
A small wildfire near the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dunn Creek Flats Campground never had a chance to get large Monday evening.
Fast responding units from the Libby Volunteer Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service and state Department of Natural Resources had the blaze under control before west winds could drive it into the crowns of pine trees and possibly across the highway onto private timberlands.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was on hand to direct traffic.
Fire officials put the Dunn Right Fire at one-quarter of an acre and in patrol status by Tuesday. A cause was not known.
Fire crews also dealt with unseasonably hot weather as temperatures rose into the low 90s.
Firefighters were also at the scene of three other small blazes Monday in the Kootenai region. One was on Lower Lake Creek Road outside of Troy, another southwest on Eureka and the third south of Heron.
They were no more than one-half acre and either controlled or out.
The biggest current fire in Northwest Montana - the Banana Lake Fire - was listed at 833 acres and contained.
National Weather Service forecasters are predicting slightly cooler weather Friday and into next week with daytime highs in the 80s and nighttime lows in the mid 40s.
There is a 20% chance of rain Friday.