From this evening’s incident update on the Thompson Fire we learn that the fire’s size estimate has been trimmed slightly to 13,202 acres and that they hope to start flying fire crews into the backcountry to fight the blaze on the ground . . .

A small fire was detected today on the west side of Waterton Lake on the U.S. side in Glacier National Park. Fire personnel are responding.

The Thompson Fire was reported at approximately 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9. It is located in a remote south-central backcountry area of Glacier National Park about 15 miles east of the West Glacier entrance and 12 miles southwest of the Saint Mary entrance. The fire is burning in the Thompson Creek and Nyack Creek drainages west of Medicine Grizzly Peak where the Flathead and Glacier Counties border follows the Continental Divide.

If weather and smoke conditions permit, two crews will fly into the backcountry area near the fire to work on control measures. One crew will land near Cutbank Pass to suppress hot spots along the fire’s edge and direct helicopter water drops. The other crew will work in the Nyack Drainage area to provide additional structure protection measures for the Upper Nyack Backcountry Patrol Cabin; cool down hot spots along the fire perimeter; direct helicopter water drops; and use pumps and hoses on any hot spots along the perimeter.

No structures have been lost or damaged…