It’s official. The Forest Service is closing an area of the Flathead National Forest in the North Fork as a precautionary measure in case the Marston Blaze comes over the Whitefish Divide. This is not terribly likely, but the fire weather is a big concern over the next couple of days.

As near as I can tell from the map, only two roads are affected. Trail Creek Road is now closed just west of the Tuchuck Campground. Whale Creek Road is closed about four miles past the turnoff for the Hornet Lookout. At present, Red meadow Road is unaffected.

See the map below for details. For a bigger version, you can view/download the PDF (1.26 MB). You can also download the text of the official closure order.

Look for more information coming from the Northeast Kootenai Complex Fire information folks fairly soon.