Trail Creek Fire

ALDER CREEK/CHRISTENSEN, TRAIL CREEK & SAND LAKE FIRES

OCTOBER 3, 2021

Public Information Line: 406-624-9452 (8 am to 8 pm) | Email: 2021.AlderCreek@firenet.gov

Facebook: @AlderCreekandTrailCreekFires

Alder Creek: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7641/  | Trail Creek: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7634/

Sand Lake: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7833/
 

Total Personnel: 354

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hunters, please watch for fire personnel. There may be firefighters designated as lookouts working outside the closure areas. Don’t mistake them for the game you are hunting! Gibbonsville Road is closed at FS Road 944 (Big Moosehorn Creek Road) coming from the east, all the way to Dahlonega. Big Hole Pass is also closed. Please obey the road closure signs. Law enforcement will be patrolling the closure areas.

TRAIL CREEK FIRE | Start Date: July 8, 2021 | Cause: Lightning | 61,987 acres | 67% complete: Fire continues to burn out in the interior, but less smoke was seen in the fire area Saturday. On the western perimeter around Anderson Mountain and Gibbonsville, work will transition to suppression repair and monitor status, along with some road grading. On the southern edge, firefighters are monitoring the Nez Perce Creek drainage and around Morgan Jones Lake where very little heat remains. Some backing fire remains in Nugget Creek. The east perimeter is in monitor and patrol status and suppression repair, with equipment operators doing chipping operations. North of Highway 43, crews are engaged in suppression repair and backhauling equipment no longer needed.

ALDER CREEK FIRE | Start Date: July 8, 2021 | Cause: Lightning | 36,742 acres | 43% complete: Fire behavior continues to be subdued on the Alder Creek Fire with most of the remaining heat in the Sawlog Creek area. Crews and engine modules continue working with hose lay and going direct in Sawlog Creek and Tucker Creek, utilizing air support as needed. In the areas around Sawlog, and the eastern perimeter, crews are patrolling, doing suppression repair, and putting in water bars where needed. On the southeastern side crews are pulling line. In Osborne Creek there is still some heat and fire activity could pick up on Monday and Tuesday as temperatures rise and humidity’s drop.

SAND LAKE FIRE | Start Date: September 1, 2021 | Cause: Unknown | 228 acres: Fire growth and activity on the Sand Lake Fire has been minimal and is being monitored by air.

WEATHER/FIRE BEHAVIOR: Sunday will be sunny, warm, and dry with light winds. Monday and Tuesday will bring near-critical fire conditions, but as the week moves on an unsettled weather pattern will bring colder, more humid weather with chances of precipitation. The fires will continue to creep and smolder today with lack of wind to drive them.

EVACUATIONS & SAFETY:  Gibbonsville, Idaho, remains in “Ready” evacuation status. U.S. Route 93, Highway 43 (Chief Joseph Pass to Wise River), and the Pioneer Scenic Byway are OPEN to through traffic. The Beaverhead County Sheriff has lifted all stages of evacuations in the Alder Creek Fire area. Please be careful of fire crews working in the area. For the safety of aerial resources and firefighters on the ground, please do not fly unmanned aircraft (drones) in the fire vicinities. If you fly, we can’t.

CLOSURES:

• The Big Hole National Battlefield visitor center will reopen on Tuesday, October 5, 2021. Visitor center hours of operation will be Tuesday – Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Big Hole National Battlefield’s lower parking lot, trails, and picnic area remain closed for public safety and resource protection.
• Portions of the Continental Divide Trail remain closed. 
• May Creek Campground and Steel Creek Campground are closed.
• Closure orders remain in effect on the Salmon-Challis National Forest (www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/scnf/alerts-notices), the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest (www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/bdnf/alerts-notices), and the Bureau of Land Management.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS: Public lands in southwest Montana and central Idaho are in varying stages of fire restrictions. Check www.mtfireinfo.org and www.idahofireinfo.com for the latest information. 

• Trail Creek Fire Map 10.03.21 (pdf 1,910 kb)
• Daily Update 10.03.21 (pdf 228 kb)