Elbow Pass Complex Fires closes in on 20,000 acres with no containment

USFS photo by Byron Bonney(AUGUSTA)- The Elbow Pass Complex Fires are continuing to grow, and at nearly 20,000 acres are the largest fires in the western part of Montana this year.

The fires are a combination of five separate blazes that were ignited by lightning storms that passed through the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the mountains along the Rocky Mountain Front in July. Four of the fires have since merged into one large fire about 25-miles southwest of Augusta.

A return to hot, dry weather made for more fire activity over the weekend, as crews continue to monitor the fire’s spread along the South Fork of the Sun River. There’s zero containment on the fires, which are continuing to burn in what the Forest Service calls rough, “inaccessible terrain”.

There are 15,535 acres burned on the Lewis & Clark National Forest, 275 acres on the Lolo National Forest and 3,014 acres on the Flathead National Forest. The Falls Point Fire had had minimal spread and remains at 281 acres. Total for the Elbow Pass Complex is currently 19,105 acres.

Elbow Pass Complex expected to burn for several more weeks

USFS photo by Corey Buhl(AUGUSTA)- The Forest Service says the Elbow Pass Complex Fire could continue to burn along the Rocky Mountain Front for several more weeks, perhaps even until the snow returns this fall. 

That's the latest estimate on the fire, actually a combination of four fires, that has burned more than 17,000 acres since lightning storms moved through the area west of Augusta in July. There is no containment on the complex, and fire crews have mainly been working to protect cabins and other structures. 99-firefighters and 2-helicopters remain assigned to the fires.

Fire managers say the fires continue to smolder and creep across the rough terrain, with some single trees torching. 

A mandatory evacuation order remains in place for Benchmark area, with several closures in place. That includes the South Fork of the Sun River south of the Benchmark.

Weather helping crews on Elbow Pass Complex fires

USFS photo(AUGUSTA)- Fire managers say cooler weather through Saturday helped firefighters slow the spread of the Elbow Pass Complex fires into the Benchmark area, although a mandatory evacuation order remains in place.

The Elbow Pass Fire was started by a lightning strike last month, but several other fires started in the same area of the Bob Marshall Wilderness, spreading across 2-different ranger districts in the mountains 25-miles west of Augusta. The Elbow Pass, Rapid Creek, Triple Divide and Bar Creek fires have burned a total of more than 15,000 acres. 

The Forest Service says continued cool weather Saturday kept fire growth to a minimum, allowing crews to work along the fire's eastern perimeter at Wood Creek, Hogback Ridge and Patrol Ridge, helping to build lines to keep the fires from spreading into the Benchmark corridor. Crews also completed fireline along the South Fork of the Sun River to Ellis Creek and set up protection measures for cabins at Welcome Creek and Indian Point, as well as the Danaher and Basin Cabins west of the Bar Creek fire. 

In addition to the Benchmark evacuations, the area closure includes the entire upper South Fork Sun River south of Benchmark, the Straight Creek drainage up to Halfmoon Creek including the Green Fork drainage, the Petty Crown and Petty Ford area, and the area east of the Benchmark Road through Renshaw Mountain, Red Hill, Cyanide Mountain, and Red Creek to the Double Falls area along the Benchmark Road. The Benchmark Road remains closed.

Bob Marshall fires grow, combine to burn thousands of acres

Rapid Creek Fire sends thick smoke into the air Monday- USFS photo(BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS AREA)- This is turning out to be another bad year for fires in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, as three fires have now combined and are burning over thousands of acres.

Last year several fires in the backcountry were allowed to burn naturally, and continued to do so for several weeks starting in late August. This year the fires are starting about a month sooner, and have Forest Service officials doing more to supress the fires because they're hitting early in the season.

As of Monday afternoon, the Rapid Creek Fire (which started on the Flathead National Forest) had moved over the Continental Divide to the Lewis and Clark National Forest. There it combined with the Triple Divide Fire and moved into the Elbow Pass Fire. North of the Elbow Pass Fire the Rapid Creek Fire found an unburned corridor and moved to the east toward Straight Creek. Sherriff deputies and forest personnel contacted recreationists and cabin owners about the possibility of the fire moving toward the Benchmark Corridor on the Lewis and Clark National Forest. The Complex is believed to be around 5,000 combined acres and may have grown to as much as 8,000 acres in the latest mapping.