Irvine Flats fire burns into second day
Berl Tiskus
Left, A helicopter drops a bucket of water on a tree crowning in the Irvine Flats fire.
Berl Tiskus
Berl Tiskus
Below, top left, a line of burning grass and other fuels points towards Kerr Dam as it burns up the side of the Flathead River.
Berl Tiskus
Below, bottom left, black areas indicate where the grass and fuels burned during the Irvine Flats fire. By Sept. 17 most of the fire had burned out but there were hot spots.
Berl Tiskus
Berl Tiskus
Below, bottom left, plumes of black smoke from the Irvine Flats fire veil the sunset on Sept. 16.
Berl Tiskus
Berl Tiskus
Summer Goddard
Summer Goddard
Summer Goddard
Below, top right, Josh Thomas, one of several concerned friends and neighbors who gathered, looks down into the canyon from near Rick and Cheryl Van Voast’s kennels.
Summer Goddard
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POLSON — A wheat field fire on Camas Road in Irvine Flats burned approximately 392 acres, according to Devon LaFrombois, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Division of Fire.
The “man-caused” fire was called in to dispatch at 4:53 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16. Aided by blustery winds, the fire roared down into the Flathead River bottom, eventually jumping the river and burning close to Damtown, the houses close to Kerr Dam. LaFrombois said those houses were the only structures threatened, and they are okay.
Two single engine airtankers and two helicopters established a fire retardant line paralleling the top of the cliffs on the north side of the river, LaFrombois said. On the ground were two 20-person Native American firefighting crews, plus Polson, Ronan and Finley Point Fire Department firefighters.
The blaze was quelled fairly quickly. The reasons, according to Tribal Division of Fire Management Officer Ron Swaney, were, “I think good firefighting and fuels — grass burns rapidly, but once you get ahead of it, you’re okay.”
Helicopters and mop up crews continued to put out hot spots on Sept. 17. There was still some heat, Swaney said, but the country is pretty steep so Tribal Division of Fire plans to just let the spots burn themselves out, although they are patrolling the area.
It’s been designated 100 percent contained, Swaney said.
