August 27, 2024
A community meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Stevensville High School gymnasium, located at 300 Park Ave. in Stevensville. The event will also be livestreamed on the Discover Bitterroot National Forest Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/discoverbitterrootnf/. Questions from online viewers may be typed into the comments section.
The Sharrott Creek Fire, 4 miles west of Stevensville in the Bitterroot NF, started at 3:45p.m. Aug. 23 and was caused by lightning. The fire started in a remote area of the Sharrott Creek drainage below St. Mary’s Peak with limited road access and grew quickly through heavy fuels pushed by high winds associated with thunderstorms.
On Monday, firefighters started to proactively burnout small portions of the east edge of the fire. The burnout spans a mile and a half and should provide an effective anchor point to start securing the fire edge. Firefighters have already done legwork to prepare this line. Burnouts are done to remove unburned fuel between containment lines and the fire’s edge. This strategy allows for better control of fire intensity. If a fire reaches the line with too much intensity, a line may not be able to hold the fire. Be prepared to see increased fire activity/smoke on St. Mary’s Peak around the 739/734 road system to the east of the fire. This burnout is designed to support control efforts. Safety procedures are in place for firefighter and public safety.
Firefighters, heavy equipment and air support from the area responded quickly that afternoon. Since then, resources have been establishing primary containment lines, protecting structures and assessing contingency options. Currently, more than 250 firefighters are on scene with additional resources mobilizing. This fire transitioned from a local Type 3 Team to Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at 6 a.m.
Evacuation orders remain in effect for the areas west of the intersection of Kootenai Creek Road and Timber Trail, to include residences on Timber Trail. West, of the west side of Sharrott Hill Loop, to include residences on Blue Grouse Lane, Redtail Hawk Lane, and Porcupine Lane. Marmot Lane and Saint Mary’s Lookout Road, west of saint Mary’s Road. For more information on evacuations please contact the Ravalli County Sheriff’s office. A recorded message is available on the emergency operation center line of 406-375-6650. Residents should download the Ravalli County sheriff’s app for mobile devices to receive early information regarding evacuation orders and changes. Residents are also encouraged to register with hyper-link to receive emergency notifications from the office of emergency management. People can register with hyper-link by following the links on the Ravalli County web page or the Ravalli County Sheriff’s app.
Expect future closures in the following areas: Kootenai Creek, St. Mary’s Trail, Big Creek and Bass Creek.
So far, helicopters have dropped more than 52,000 gallons of water. Air tankers have dropped 48,000 gallons of retardant. Public notice: for your protection and the protection of our firefighters, please avoid these areas. Also, please do not fly UAS (drones) in areas around the fire.