Far from over
<p>The West Mullan Fire began Sunday around 5 p.m. near Superior, Mont., and quickly grew. US Forest Service crews are fighting the blaze around the clock.</p>
<p>As of Monday, six helicopters were on scene-filling at key points along the Clark Fork River.</p>
<p>U.S. Forest Service helicopters made drops throughout the day Monday.</p>
SUPERIOR, Mont. - The West Mullan Fire continues to grow and the Northern Rockies Incident Command Team says the worst is still to come.
In day five of the fire, the estimated acreage has increased to 4,500 acres with 20 percent containment. The fire crept down close to the town of Superior and has now been pushed back farther away from town.
During the nightly public information meeting, Operations Section Chief Joe Braybender said firefighters were finishing up behind the last house in that area and the fire activity there was expected to dissipate by 9 p.m. But the fight is far from over.
"We have three or four days of tough weather ahead of us. Sunday's supposed to be the hottest and driest of this season so far and it's going to cause some real challenges for us," Braybender said.
Braybender said the challenges should be up over the hill farther away from town but nonetheless, a lot of work remains ahead of the crews.
"We're not seeing relief, not even into next week," said Fire Behavior Analyst Brad Gilleppie when discussing the dry, hot conditions to come.
One of Gilleppie's main concerns was thermal belts that will be created due to the intense heat. Gilleppie said temperatures in the thermal belts are expected to be in the 70s with humidity in the teens, causing major fire activity during the night and into the next day.
Because of the thermal belts, fire is expected back down the hill.
Braybender said crews will man the area and a good contingency of resources will be patrolling the area to ensure the fire's containment on the hill.
The fire is currently moving off to the southeast and the concern now lies in the Flat Creek and Wood Gulch area.
Wood Gulch already saw major fire activity Thursday and firefighters had to pull out of the area. They were able to re-engage once conditions were deemed safe.
Another crew of firefighters had to pull out after the fire on Pardee Creek rolled under the power lines. Once the fire got beyond the power lines, the crews engaged again.
The projections show the fire also moving into Johnson Creek and Sloway Gulch, although a time frame has not yet been established.
Incident Commander in Training Mike Goicoechea said chances of the fire moving into town from a fire behavior standpoint is "pretty low."
"With the work they've done today and the previous days, they have taken out most of the fuel components in there," Goicoechea said.
With the fire moving away from town, the next plan of action is to focus on the backcountry - a place where the fire is expected to grow.
"There is a lot of tough work and a lot of tough ground in the backcountry," Goicoechea said.
Structures are scattered in the backcountry and Goicoechea assured those places are a high priority, the team doing everything in their power to protect them.
As Goicoechea continued, he referenced the Chippy Creek Fire in 2000 - a fire that exploded to almost 100,000 acres.
"Sometimes these things can't be controlled when they reach a certain size and it's Mother Nature that ends up putting it out. I think we have to be really realistic with what may possibly happen especially with the forecast Brad's calling for," Goicoechea said.
A roadblock is currently in place on the bridge in Superior crossing the Clark Fork River restricting access to the north. According to a press release, Pardee Road, East Pardee Road, West Mullan Road, Flat Creek Road, East Mullan Road to Big Eddy Fishing Access site, LaVista Road, and Keystone Road were under mandatory evacuations throughout the day.
The Red Cross has established an emergency center at the Superior Elementary School.
Goicoechea explained that some of the displaced persons might be allowed back into their homes and businesses today.
"We've been working since we got here on when we would safely get people out of harm's way and when you can safely go back into your homes and businesses that we've displaced you from due to this event," Goicoechea said.
The fire crews as well as the Mineral County Sheriff's Office planned to look at the risk in the morning and hopefully return people to their residences.