Cool temps calm Bitterroot wildfire
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) Sunday night's cooler temperatures helped quiet a wildfire in the Bitterroot Range, but winds predicted for Tuesday could stoke the fire again.
As of Monday morning, the Sharrott Creek Fire on the east face of the Bitterroot Mountains 4 miles west of Stevensville did not appear to have grown much beyond where it was on Saturday at about 1,050 acres. An infrared reconnaissance flight scheduled to reassess the perimeter last night was unable to fly due to maintenance.
On Sunday night, air temperatures in the Bitterroot Valley dropped to 45 degrees, which helped to raise the relative humidity. But most of that hung in the valley, having less of an effect mid-slope where the air was a little warmer and the wildfire was still torching some trees Monday morning.
Smoke will linger over the mountains until tomorrow, when a cold front is predicted to move through, bringing winds that could gust between 25 and 35 mph. That could prompt the fire to make another run.
The Sharrott Creek Fire started at 3:45 p.m. Friday due to a lightning strike that accompanied another big band of thunderstorms that moved through from the southwest. Due to the high winds caused by the storm, the fire exhibited extreme activity, according to the Bitterroot National Forest.
An Air Attack crew and 30 firefighters responded Friday afternoon. By 8 p.m., the Air Attack crew estimated the fire had grown to 1,600 acres and the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders for residents living in the foothills along Kootenai Creek, St. Mary’s Lookout Road and Sharrott Hill Loop.
The growth of the fire slowed after the winds died down, and by Saturday morning, the fire was smoking but hadn’t expanded much. The number of firefighters grew to 100 as four air tankers started dropping retardant while four helicopters did water-bucket drops.
On Saturday afternoon, the Type 3 Incident Team received infrared photos that put the fire at 1,012 acres. The fire remained quiet throughout Saturday night. By Sunday morning, it had grown only another 36 acres. Crews were out assessing properties on Saturday to determine their fire risk, another reminder for homeowners to clear vegetation from around their houses to create a defensible zone.