Fire crews appear to have a good handle on the Glacier Rim fire. Containment reached 70% yesterday and the recent rain helped a bit. Fire extent stayed at 100 acres. Here is the most recent report from the InciWeb site . . .

Yesterday, July 6, Fire crews maintained fire lines around the slop-over from July 4th. Firefighters are falling hazardous snags to remove fuel near the fire line. All three helicopters provided water and visual support for the fire. An additional water tender was ordered and assisted in cooling the south flank of the fire to enable crews to begin mop up process. The Flathead County structure protection team continued to contact residents and assess structures Spoon and Bailey Lake residential area.

Current Situation:

Rd 316, Canyon Creek Road, has been closed at the junction with the North Fork Road #486 and at the junction at Trumbull Creek Road #9848 to public access.

The fire received a small amount of rain overnight and more is expected through the morning. Crews laid hose around the fire and will be cooling down the perimeter and hot spots with support from the water tenders. Hazard snag removal will continue along the south flank of the fire. Firefighters continue to reinforce and hold already established containment lines around the perimeter of the fire.

FOR YOUR AND THE FIREFIGHTERS’ SAFETY, DO NOT STOP IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN THE FIRE AREA. Vehicles driving on the North Fork Road are asked to not stop in the fire area. River floaters on the river are asked to not stop in the fire area

Although mostly contained, the Glacier Rim fire continues to smolder in downed timber from the 2003 Robert Fire . . .

Stoked by high winds the night of July 4, the Glacier Rim Fire slopped over containment lines on its south and southwest flank, growing another 15 acres.

The fire is now at 100 acres. Cooler temperatures July 5 helped firefighters get a line around the slop area and the fire is now listed at 70 percent contained.

Forest Service Road No. 316 — the Canyon Creek Road, is closed to vehicles as firefighters are using it to reach the south end of the fire.

Read more . . .

More reading:

Idaho fire destroys homes while containment grows at Glacier Rim (Missoulian)

InciWeb page for Glacier Rim fire (USFS)

Looks like the Glacier Rim Fire is winding down . . .

Crews continue to mop up the Glacier Rim Fire west of Glacier National Park. The fire is listed at 82 acres and is burning in the old Robert Fire burn of 2003 in downed timber and brush.

The fire has seen no growth in the past several days and spot fires in Glacier National Park have been put out as well. The fire continues to burn inside the perimeter, however and is listed at 50 percent contained. Because of snag danger, the interior fire is being allowed to burn, with helicopter drops on hot spots to stop any spreading.

Read more . . .

Here is the official Thursday evening report on the status of the Glacier Rim Fire:

Release Date: Jul 2, 2015

The Glacier Rim Fire is burning on the Glacier View Ranger District, in the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park. This fire is being managed with full suppression tactics, with fire fighter and public safety as a priority.

Fire Summary:
Location: North of Columbia Falls, MT, approximately 11.5 miles up the North Fork Road, in the vicinity of Glacier Rim.

Current Status: The Glacier Rim Fire started on June 27, 2015. The fire is burning in the old 2003 Robert Fire burned area. The fuels are mixed heavy dead timber and brush, with significant snag hazard. The fire is primarily located west of the North Fork Road, though it did spot across the North Fork River into Glacier National Park.

Yesterday, Wednesday July 1, the fire continued to burn hot within the interior of the established perimeter. Fire lines built during the previous days were reinforced. Sprinklers were set up in multiple locations including in the steep northern edge of the fire to maintain the perimeter of the fire. The helicopters continued cooling hot spots along the fire line. All known spot fires within Glacier National Park are dead out. Firefighter efforts are challenged due to safety concerns involving danger of large snags originally burned in the Robert Fire of 2003.

Today, Thursday July 2, firefighters will continue to reinforce fire lines. Water pumps and sprinkler systems will be used to cool the edges of the fire and mop up. Helicopters will continue to work hotspots and areas that flare up. Some resources are being released from the fire. The temperatures and wind speeds are expected to increase on the fire.

Unseasonably warm weather and extremely dry fuel conditions are driving fire behavior in these previously burned fuels. Two residences directly adjacent to the fire voluntarily chose to leave. No evacuation orders have been issued by the county.

The following resources are assigned to the fire: two 20-person fire crews and several other smaller modules of firefighters, four engines, water tenders, three helicopters, a mix of heavy equipment including a dozer, a feller-buncher, and an excavator, a local type 3 Incident Management Team composed of Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, Flathead County, and MT State Department of Natural Resources, for a total of 85 personnel.

SPECIAL MESSSAGE: Stage 1 Fire restrictions will go into effect for all of Northwest Montana on Friday, July 3, 2015.

FOR YOUR SAFETY AND THE FIREFIGHTERS SAFETY DO NOT STOP IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN THE FIRE AREA. Vehicles driving on the North Fork Road are asked to not stop in the fire area. River floaters on the river are asked to not stop in the fire area. Helicopters are working over head to shuttle fire fighters to the fire as well as performing water drops. The helicopters cannot fly overhead if people are stopped below.
Fire Information: (406) 387-3867
Email: glacierrimfire@gmail.com
Web: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4336

Here is the official Wednesday evening report on the status of the Glacier Rim Fire:

Release Date: Jul 1, 2015

The Glacier Rim Fire is burning on the Glacier View Ranger District, in the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park. This fire is being managed with full suppression tactics, with fire fighter and public safety as a priority.

Fire Summary:
Location: North of Columbia Falls, MT approximately 11.5 miles up the North Fork Road in the vicinity of Glacier Rim.

Detected: June 27, 2015  Cause: Human caused, under investigation.

Legal Description: SE, Section 27,T32N, R20W; Lat/Long: Lat. 48 30′ 9″ North, Long. 114 8′ 39″

Current Size: 85 acres  Containment: 35%

Current Status: The Glacier Rim Fire started on June 27, 2015, at approximately 1 p.m. The fire is burning in the old 2003 Robert Fire burned area. The fuels are mixed heavy dead timber and brush, with significant snag hazard. The fire is primarily located west of the North Fork Road, though it has spotted across the North Fork River in to Glacier National Park.

Yesterday, Tuesday June 30, firefighters continued to build line around the fire and reinforce already established lines. Firefighters continued to work towards total line containment with helicopters and heavy equipment assistance. The spot fires within the park were mopped up and rehabbed by the crew working there.

Today, Wednesday July 1, the fire continues to burn hot within the interior of the established perimeter. A small area on the north edge of the fire within Canyon Creek is still not contained due to steep terrain and heavy timber; the efforts today include setting up sprinklers along the north edge of fire and cooling the hot spots within the interior of the fire with helicopters. Now that the spot fires within Glacier National Park are dead out, firefighters are being pulled later this evening and reassigned to the main fire. Firefighter efforts are challenged due to safety concerns involving extreme danger of large snags and falling dead trees originally burned in the Robert Fire of 2003.

Unseasonably warm weather and extremely dry fuel conditions are driving fire behavior in these previously burned fuels. Two residences directly adjacent to the fire voluntarily chose to leave. No evacuation orders have been issued by the county.

The following resources are assigned to the fire: three 20-person fire crews and several other smaller modules of firefighters, two engines, three water tenders, three helicopters, a mix of heavy equipment including a dozer, two feller-bunchers, a grappel skidder and an excavator, two jet boats to facilitate floater safety on the river, a local type 3 Incident Management Team composed of Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, Flathead County, and MT State Department of Natural Resources, for a total of 120 total personnel.

SPECIAL MESSSAGE: Stage 1 Fire restrictions will go into effect for all of Northwest Montana on Friday, July 3, 2015. FOR YOUR SAFETY AND FIREFIGHTER SAFETY DO NOT STOP IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN THE FIRE AREA. Vehicles on driving on the North Fork Road are asked to not stop in the fire area. River floaters on the river are asked to not stop in the fire area. Helicopters are working over head to shuttle fire fighters to the fire as well as performing water drops. The helicopters cannot fly overhead if people are stopped below.

Fire Information: 406/387-3867
Email: glacierrimfire@gmail.com
Web: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4336

The Glacier Rim Fire showed little growth yesterday, with good progress being made on containment . . .

The Glacier Rim fire put up some impressive flares, but only grew by five acres Tuesday.

The human-caused fire 11.5 miles north of Columbia Falls has burned about 85 acres between the North Fork Road and the North Fork of the Flathead River along Glacier National Park’s western boundary.

A crew of 115 firefighters has got it about 30 percent contained.

Fire spokeswoman Sonja Hartmann said as the blaze worked through forests already torched in the 2003 Roberts fire, it occasionally hit piles of toppled trees and sent up impressive flames.

Read more . . .

See also: Firefighters have line around Glacier Rim fire; Stage 1 restrictions now in effect (Hungry Horse News)

Here is the official Tuesday evening report on the status of the Glacier Rim Fire:

Release Date: Jun 30, 2015

Fire Information – Glacier Rim Fire Tuesday, June 30, 2015 9:00 AM; Flathead National Forest

Fire Information: (406) 387-3867

Email: glacierrimfire@gmail.com

Web: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4336

The Glacier Rim Fire is burning on the Glacier View Ranger District, in the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park. This fire is being managed with full suppression tactics, with fire fighter and public safety as a priority.

Fire Summary:
Location: North of Columbia Falls, MT, approximately 11.5 miles up the North Fork Road, in the vicinity of Glacier Rim.

Detected: June 27, 2015 Cause: Human caused, under investigation

Legal Description: SE, Section 27, T32N, R20W; Lat/Long: Lat. 48° 30’ 9” North, Long. 114° 8’ 39”

Current size: 85 acres; Containment: 30%

Current Status: The Glacier Rim fire started on June 27, 2015, at approximately 1 p.m. The fire is believed to be human caused and is under investigation. The fire is burning in the old 2003 Robert Fire burned area. The fuels are mixed heavy dead timber and brush, with significant snag hazard. The fire is primarily located west of the North Fork Road, though it has spotted across the North Fork River in to Glacier National Park.

Today, Tuesday June 30, fire fighters will continue to build line around the fire and reinforce already established lines. The north edge of the fire within Canyon Creek is still not contained due to steep terrain and heavy timber. Firefighters will continue to work towards total line containment with helicopters and heavy equipment assistance. Crews will continue within the park to control any spot fires. Firefighter efforts are challenged due to safety concerns involving extreme danger of falling dead trees originally burned in the Robert Fire of 2003.

Yesterday, Monday June 29th worked to build line around the fire but were unable to reach the steep north flank. They were able to make substantial progress due to higher humidity and calm winds. A fire fighter lookout spotted a hot spot within the Glacier Park and the crews within the park were able to work on it immediately. Firefighters continued the same tactics of using heavy equipment and hand crews to build fire line, with helicopters assisting. Unseasonably warm weather and extremely dry fuel conditions are driving fire behavior in these previously burned fuels. Two residences directly adjacent to the fire voluntarily chose to leave. No evacuation orders have been issued by the county. Two Bear helicopter ran their infrared camera last evening to detect any potential hot spots. They found that the interior of the fire still continues to generate intense heat, but no new spots were detected.

The following resources are assigned to the fire: three 20-person fire crews and several other smaller modules of firefighters, two engines, two water tenders, two helicopters, a mix of heavy equipment including a dozer, two feller-bunchers, a grappel skidder and an excavator, two jet boats to facilitate floater safety on the river, a local type 3 Incident Management Team composed of Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, Flathead County, and MT State Department of Natural Resources, for a total of 115 total personnel.

SPECIAL MESSSAGE: FOR YOUR SAFETY AND FIREFIGHTER SAFETY, DO NOT STOP IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN THE FIRE AREA. Vehicles on driving on the North Fork Road are asked to not stop in the fire area. River floaters on the river are asked to not stop in the fire area. Helicopters are working over head to shuttle fire fighters to the fire as well as performing water drops. The helicopters cannot fly overhead if people are stopped below.

When we passed the fire site at around 10:30 a.m. this morning, a small smoke plume was rising from the face of the ridge west of the North Fork Road. Otherwise, there was little activity evident.

Here’s what the Flathead Beacon had to report . . .

Update: June 30, 12 p.m.

Firefighters reined in a human-caused wildfire north of Columbia Falls on Monday but concerns loom from a series of thunderstorms that swept the valley last night.

The Glacier Rim Fire, located near the western banks of the North Fork Flathead River across from Glacier National Park, has burned 85 acres and is 30 percent contained, according to incident managers. Nearly 115 personnel and two helicopters are battling the blaze.

“We’re looking a lot better today than the start of yesterday,” Keith VanBroeke, operations chief for the incident management team in charge of the fire, told crews in the June 30 morning briefing.

Read more . . .