Glacier National Park Fires Update 9-5-17 12n

The Sprague Fire grew to 13,343 acres over the Labor Day Weekend. Fire is now established in the Walton drainage to the south of Lincoln Lake Trail. Heavy smoke is causing a reduction in fire behavior which has allowed firefighters more suppression opportunities. Yesterday two helicopters dipped out of Lake McDonald and worked to cool the fire in the Mt. Brown area. The night shift monitored fire activity on Snyder Ridge and patrolled the Lake McDonald Lodge complex. Lower temperatures and slightly higher relative humidity is forecast again for today.

An evacuation ORDER is in place. Area residents and Park visitors were evacuated last Sunday. The evacuation order remains in effect from the south end of Lake McDonald north to Logan Pass. This includes the North McDonald Road. This does not include the Apgar area at this time. Logan Pass is still accessible from the east side of the Park. The duration of the evacuation is unknown at this time.

Flathead County structure firefighters are helping out. Structure firefighters from Evergreen Fire Rescue, Bad Rock Fire, Coram-West Glacier Fire, and West Valley Fire spent Monday sizing up the Lake McDonald Lodge and complex for defensibility. Their special expertise was deeply appreciated by Fire Managers and Glacier National Park. Vent caps on Lake McDonald Lodge were wrapped with a protective covering. Complex structures were wet down and sprinklers and hoses were running on the facilities to make them more defensible. A 7,000 gallon water tanker is supporting the effort.

Structure protection work is completed in the Lake McDonald Lodge complex. Today structure protection hose lays and sprinkler deployments will be initiated in the Avalanche Creek Campground area. Mop up and structure protection work continue around the Sperry Chalet complex. The Mt. Brown Lookout continues to persist.

Smoke. Because of the high pressure system, dense smoke is predicted to impact Lake McDonald. Concentration of smoke is expected to increase over the next few days in the Lake McDonald and West Glacier areas. You can monitor current conditions on the Park’s webcams at http://go.nps.gov/glacwebcams.

Adair Peak Fire Information. The Adair Peak fire was started by lightning on August 12, 2017. Glacier National Park fire managers have been monitoring the fire which is now at 1335 acres. The fire is burning in a remote area of the park on the south side of Logging Lake. Fire managers expect the fire behavior to moderate as this fire enters old fire scars. Yesterday personnel wrapped the two historic cabins at either end of Logging Lake. Hutton’s Wildland Fire Management Team assumed command of the fire today at 6:00 am.

Fire Activity across the Nation is extreme. There are 53 large fires currently burning in the Northern Rockies, totaling 662,000 acres. Nationally, 137 large fires are impacting 7,800,000 acres. So far in 2017, the ten year average of acres burned is exceeded by over 2.25 million acres.

Most areas of the Park remain OPEN. All areas of the North Fork, Apgar Village, the Going-to-the-Sun Road between St. Mary and Logan Pass, Granite Park Chalet, Two Medicine, St. Mary, Many Glacier, and Goat Haunt. Please check the Park website for closure information and current conditions at https://nps.gov/glac.