Miller Peak fire not yet on city land, but trail closures could come
Martin Kidston
(Missoula Current) While the Miller Peak fire just south of Missoula remains several miles away from open space lands held by the city on Mount Dean Stone, the Lolo National Forest said Monday that trail closures could be coming.
The fire, which started on Sunday, quickly ballooned under hot summer winds to 500 acres. Afternoon winds were expected to continue pushing the fire on Monday, but the latest figures have not yet been reported.
Some evacuation warnings for Miller Creek have been lifted but others remain in place along Upper Miller Creek Road to the junction of Schwartz Creek Road. The Missoula County Sheriff's Department is asking all travelers to avoid the area.
“We are anticipating a fire area closure to allow crews to work,” the Lolo National Forest said Tuesday morning. It added that further details are expected soon.
The fire is burning just south of open space land held by the City of Missoula. In recent years, the city has purchased portions of open space on Mount Dean Stone with access to and from Miller Creek in partnership with the Five Valleys Land Trust.
As of Monday afternoon, city officials said the fire hadn't yet reached open space lands.
“They think it's about 4 miles southeast from our parcels on Dean Stone,” said Becky Goodrich, communications director for parks and recreation. “The Lolo National Forest is managing the incident and they're about to announce a closure of an area back there that will impact the Skyline Ridge Trail on property owned by Five Valleys.”
While the city now owns most of the land on the Pattee Creek side of Dean Stone, Five Valleys retains ownership of land on the Miller Creek side where the fire is currently burning. The organization couldn't be immediately reached Monday afternoon for comment.
According to the Forest Service, helicopters will continue to work the fire throughout the day. But air tankers will likely remain sidelined. Officials said they were not effective in reducing fire activity given the area's fuel type.
The agency said hand crews had been ordered and fire officials were bracing for challenging fire weather. Officials on both the Bitterroot and Lolo national forests, along with the Flathead Indian Reservation, elevated the fire danger to "very high" on Sunday.
“Hot and dry conditions will persist over the fire location for the next several days,” the Forest Service said. “Gusty westerly winds will redevelop Monday afternoon. The winds are expected to significantly lighter on Tuesday.”
The Missoula County Fire Protection Association said 61 fires remain active across Montana. A total of 720 fires have been reported across the state so far this year.
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