Wildfire Threatens Town Near Glacier Park
Posted on: Saturday, 26 July 2003, 06:00 CDT
Three wildfires burning in Glacier National Park have chased away thousands of park visitors, with concern now centering on one blaze threatening a nearby town. In Washington state, meanwhile, a helicopter pilot died fighting flames on an Indian reservation.
One of the three wildfires scorching Glacier National Park was approaching National Park Service headquarters in West Glacier as well as the town itself and other communities along the park's southern edge.
The combined blazes have consumed more than 40,000 acres and forced the evacuation of thousands of park visitors. One fire, in the northwest portion of Glacier, destroyed six houses.
Colorado firefighters were battling wildfires that covered a total of about 11,000 acres, including a lightning-caused blaze that broke out Friday northwest of Fort Collins and forced the evacuation of 15 homes.
Further west, wildfires continued raging across Washington and California.
About 500 homes in Southern California's Riverside County had to be evacuated after a fire quickly burned more than 6,400 acres, moving along rocky canyon ridges in the San Jacinto area.
In nearby Kern County, an 1,100-acre blaze spread into Sequoia National Forest but was well south - about 25 miles - from the famed giant sequoia trees.
A helicopter pilot was killed Friday while dumping water on a wildfire on the Colville Indian Reservation in northeastern Washington. The pilot was the only occupant of the Kaman K-1200.
In the north-central part of Washington, a 64,000-acre blaze was four to six miles west of Loomis State Forest and could continue to burn - eventually destroying 190,000 acres - until the heavy rains, or early snows, of fall.
Both the Loomis fire in Washington and Montana's Glacier fire are heading toward Canada. The Loomis fire was within four miles of the border and American fire managers have met with their Canadian counterparts to discuss strategy should the blaze cross into British Columbia.
Firefighters in Montana were doing much of their work by hand because Glacier officials were determined not to let mechanized equipment run roughshod over the fragile landscape.
"It's a natural park and fire is a natural thing. Sometimes we can do more damage trying to put it out than we would by letting it burn," said Jack Potter, chief ranger.
In the capital city of Helena, fire specialists and other state and federal officials told Gov. Judy Martz that Montana should brace itself for a wildfire season worse than 2000, when about 1 million acres burned - including massive portions of the Bitterroot Valley.
The fire potential as measured by the dryness of timber is now the highest it has ever been, said Brad Powell, the U.S. Forest Service's regional chief in Missoula.
"The conditions statewide are indicative of a long fire season," Powell said.
As of Friday, hundreds of firefighters were working to contain seven major fires statewide. They were helped by overcast skies and cooler weather.
The National Interagency Fire Center said 42 large fires were burning in 12 Western states Friday.
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On the Net:
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov
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