Rain, temps in 50s headed toward Montana fires

Up to 2 inches of rain and temperatures in the 50s, forecast through Labor Day weekend across northcentral Montana, should temper Rocky Mountain Front fires that have burned 59,544 acres.

“It’s going to be a welcome relief with all the fires going on around the area,” said Scott Coulston, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Great Falls.

Widespread rainfall with amounts of 1 to 2 inches and possibly 3 inches in some locations, along with high temperatures in the 50s, are expected over the course of the long weekend, Coulston said.

“We’re not expecting heavy downpours,” Coulston said, adding rainfall will be of varying intensity Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

At higher elevations in the mountains, 1 to 2 inches of snow is possible, he said.

Some mountain passes might see slushy conditions, especially Saturday night, he added.

Labor Day weekend travelers should plan for extra travel time as a result of the cool, wet weather, Coulston said.

The weather system should moderate fire spread, said Holly Krake, a fire information officer for the Choteau-based incident management team at the four-fire Family Peak Complex along the Rocky Mountain Front.

The fires stretch from Heart Butte south to Augusta.

More accurate mapping has slightly reduced the size of the largest fire, Spotted Eagle, to 48,815 acres, Krake said.

That fire, which had been small and located well within Lewis and Clark National Forest, exploded as a result of high winds Aug. 28 and forced the evacuation of Heart Butte. The evacuation has since been lifted, and residents are back in their homes, Krake said.

The fire is about three miles southwest of Heart Butte.

Driven by strong winds, the Spotted Eagle fire actively spread 750 acres Wednesday to the northwest up Runner Gulch, with winds lining up in the canyon just right to cause the fire spread, Krake said. Crews reported very active fire behavior including single and group tree torching, with heavy smoke hitting the Browning area.

With the return of cooler, wetter weather and decreased winds Thursday, helicopters dropped water on the Spotted Eagle fire and the 9,542-acre Moose Ridge fire, which is 32 miles southwest of Choteau.

Rain moving into the area should moderate fire growth, but it won’t necessarily be a fire season-ending event, Krake said.

As of Thursday, 244 personnel were assigned to the four fires, which also includes the 1,187-acre Sheep Mountain fire 34 miles southwest of Choteau and the now-contained Benchmark fire west of Augusta. Most of the firefighters are working on the Spotted Eagle fire.

Mike Richmond, a meteorologist with the Northern Rockies Coordination Center in Missoula, said the vegetation on the Front and the plains is dead so it won’t absorb much of the moisture. Several dry, windy days would dry out the landscape again, he said.