I was just there on July 2nd.

Attached File

10-4 Thanks

Those photos are making me want to cry.  I know its just nature and will regrow but there is something indescribable about that place. It calls my soul like no place on earth.  Been multiple times and look forward to the next time, it can't be soon enough.  Took the kids there in 2014 I think and left the park the day the fire started.  We were on the road and my mom called and told us Glacier was burning and while it hurt to here the news I was so glad we had already done that portion of the trip because otherwise it would have crushed me.  That was the part of the vacation I was most looking forward to.  Prayers for all those there and hope they get it under control fast.

Really awesome photos!  -I realize it's a bad event but the images really capture a feeling.

Yall need a break up there, and Grunteled, elcope is a godsend up there lean on him he knows all the stuff. Hoping some day to get up there again and do it properly

Here is what the fire looked like 24 hours ago.

It's all part of nature.

So much has changed both in and out of the park in the last 20 years and fire is a part of that. Many of the areas up the north fork were almost unhuntable due to timber being too thick to support any deer population now have area they can graze due to the Moose Lake fire from 2001.

Nothing exists in a stasis.

Howe Ridge Fire Update, August 13, 4 P.M.
Active interagency firefighting efforts continue on the Howe Ridge Fire, now estimated between 1,500-2,500 acres. A local Type III Flathead County Interagency Team is assisting the park in efforts to check the spread of the fire and continue to protect structures. A Type I team will be assuming command of the fire later in the week.

Flathead County fire departments were instrumental in protecting structures along North Lake McDonald Road. While multiple buildings were saved, a number of structures were lost last night. Exact details are not yet available.

This afternoon, two CL-215 (Canadian “superscooper”) airplanes and a K-Max Type I helicopter are dropping water from Lake McDonald on widespread spot fires and are working to establish a secure anchor point from which to fight the fire. Multiple structural engines and wildland engine crews are protecting structures and working to suppress spot fires. Crews and engines will remain through the night to protect structures where they can do so safely. The fire is staffed with approximately 60 personnel.
While winds have been moderate today, conditions remain hot and dry. Fire season in Northwest Montana is expected to continue into September.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road is closed between the foot of Lake McDonald (near Apgar) and Logan Pass. The road remains open between St. Mary and Logan Pass. The Inside North Fork Road has also been closed. Most other areas of the park are open.

Evacuations are in place between the foot of Lake McDonald and Logan Pass, and the following areas and services are now closed:
Avalanche & Sprague Creek Campgrounds North Lake McDonald Road (private residences and the Lake McDonald Ranger Station)
Lake McDonald Lodge Complex (all businesses, employees, and private residences) Private residences along the Going-to-the-Sun Road
Suppression operations also continue at Numa Ridge and Heavens Peak. Smoke jumpers are making excellent progress constructing line around a 1.4 acre fire on Numa Ridge.

The Heavens Sake Fire on Heavens Peak is staffed with four heli-rapellers. Multiple trail closures are associated with the fires. Please see full trail closures on the park’s website. Effective 12 a.m. tonight, the park will enter Stage II Fire Restrictions. No campfires will be permitted in the frontcountry or backcountry. Smoking is also prohibited except within an enclosed building, vehicle, developed recreation area, or barren area three feet in diameter. Propane stoves that have an on/off switch are permitted.

Media access and local resident access into the fire closure area is not anticipated today.

FB video of the amphib "Super Scooper" aircraft sucking up water on Lake McDonald.

https://www.facebook.com/Dailyinterlake/videos/873120709564056/?hc_ref=ARQIEfJehnqwxfm9phbJaB8KmNNMTciDkltE9b93wdJy84VRRWSYWLHKQmPI1leGv-o

We made a 5300 mile road trip last month, and hit Canyonlonds NP, Arches NP, Glacier NP, Kootenay NP, Banff NP, then back down through Yellowstone and the Tetons. Whitefish had to be one of our favorite towns. Going to try and make it back for a week next summer.

Yeah, throughout the course of my Military career, I've lived on a few different continents, but Whitefish MT tops them all.

Dammit!!  I am headed that way next week!  Mother Fer. Was gonna hike Waterton and st Mary side up to grinnel. I’ve been praying for rain for a good month now.

Please keep this updated.

Prayers for the firefighters and those in the fires way
OST

Peanut butter and jealous.  Love that part of MT.  Would love to find work up there.

Sorry to see GNP burning. It is my favorite park. Hope the FF avoid harm.

Will do, but everywhere in W MT is going to be smoke filled from Bozeman to Missoula, and NW to ID. It's just where the fires are. That being said, if you are not asthmatic or have any other underlying health conditions, you can hike where you wanted to, but it is going to be smoky.

The vast majority of the trails in GNP are still open and 99% of those in the Bob Marshall Wilderness as well. Currently, St. Mary's to Grinnel is still open and will probably be when you get here next week, barring additional lightening storms between now and then.

AZ Wildland Firefighters Representing in GNP.

This is fucking deja vu. I'm gonna be there on the 29th to do the Norris Traverse starting on 2 September, which is at least a 7-day push, and this fire is in almost the same area as the Sprague fire last year. That's probably a good thing, though, as there shouldn't be as much fuel in there, and it's beside the lake, and the winds have laid out a lot, and the rain forecast is looking better towards the end of this week and into next week.

I was a week out of doing this route the same time last year when the Sprague fire blew up and the whole West was ablaze. We ultimately had to scrub the trip, which wasn't so bad because we had tons of hurricane swell here, so I was too busy surfing to think much about it.

Seriously hope it works out this time.

Keep an eye out on current trail conditions and closures as it stands right now, your proposed trek is a go, but that could change hourly. Whatever assistance I can provide, let me know and I'll try to get it to you.

Conditions right now are pretty smoky, but not as bad as last year where you could stare at the sun with the naked eye due to the smoke cover.  As it stands right now, a cold front has moved through and temps have dropped 15-20 deg, which should help the fire suppression effort.

Barring any new fire starts, your plan is currently a go.

wow

awesome photo

Roger that, thanks OP. I'm joining my buddy Joey Coconato (YT channel "MyOwnFrontier") for this route and was able to talk to him a little today. Our current plan hasn't changed but if it gets bad again, we may go to the Winds, Teton, North Cascades, or Sawtooths. Plenty of options even if it gets worse.

Thoughts and prayers to all! I have not seen smoke this bad here in years!

I can normally see the whole swan range from my deck but I can’t hardly see the outline anymore.

What direction are the prevailing winds there?

Generally speaking, from NW to SE.

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/front_page_slider/20180813/historic_cabins_burn_in_glacier_park_blaze

Glacier National Park officials confirmed Monday that a number of structures were lost Sunday night as wind and extreme fire conditions caused the Howe Ridge Fire to swell to well over 1,500 acres.

Among the buildings that burned is the historic Wheeler Cabin on the shore of Lake McDonald, according to Turner Askew of Whitefish, a member of the Clack family that owns five cabins just east of the North McDonald Ranger Station.
At a community meeting Monday night in Glacier, one homeowner said that approximately 10 cabins in the historic Kelly’s Camp on the west shore of the lake were also lost in the fire.

Park officials, however, had not released the exact number or type of structures burned, as of late Monday.
Active interagency firefighting efforts continue on the Howe Ridge Fire, with a local Type III Flathead County Interagency Team checking the spread of the fire and continuing to protect structures. A Type I team will be assuming command of the fire later in the week, park spokesperson Lauren Alley said.

Askew said the Clack family has invested in a fire suppression system on all of the family’s cabins that it hopes “will create a bubble of humidity that will cause the fire to go around us.“Everything at that north end is in danger,” he said. The Clack cabins are roughly 1,100 feet from the Wheeler Cabin, and about 150 feet from the ranger station.

“We’re hopeful the fire suppression system will work, but the wind is supposed to change,” Askew said. “The sprinklers will run without anyone there,” but fire hoses at their cabins would need to be manned.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd591521.pdf

That's what I thought, which is why the smoke was so bad over much of Colorado and Utah, etc. last year. So with that direction of flow, the Norris will likely be smokey as fuck. Glacier-based IG accounts seem to be convinced the fire will burn until weather ultimately snuffs it out. I'm really hoping it rains like fuck out there this weekend. That's the next best chance of rain according to the forecast but who knows.

Let's hope so, because we haven't had any appreciable precipitation in about two months.

https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/news/18-40.htm

Howe Ridge Fire Update, August 14 11 AM

West Glacier, MT – 

Fire behavior moderated on Monday following more favorable weather conditions. Crews on the ground, supported by aerial resources worked to limit the spread of the fire to the north. Crews worked throughout the night Monday to suppress spot fires. 

The fire is estimated at 2,500 acres. The weather forecast for the fire area is calm today but conditions remain hot and dry. Today, firefighters will continue to suppress spot fires along the north end of Lake McDonald. CL-215 “Superscoopers” and a K-Max helicopter will again be used to drop water, focusing on the north and southwest edges of the fire.

The lightning-caused Howe Ridge Fire made a significant run on Sunday night, despite active air and ground firefighting efforts earlier in the day. The fire activity prompted multiple evacuations on the North Lake McDonald Road, the Lake McDonald Lodge Complex, Avalanche and Sprague Creek Campgrounds, nearby hiking trails, and a portion of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. 

A structural protection task force from Flathead County responded immediately Sunday evening to protect private residences and National Park Service buildings along the north shore of Lake McDonald. While multiple buildings were saved, a number of structures were lost due to the extreme fire behavior. The National Park Service has not completed a full inventory of all infrastructure impacted by this fire run, and additional losses may be documented once crews are able to fully access the area. Fire is still very active in the area and crews continue to work to protect the remaining structures along North McDonald Road. 

Approximately seven private summer residences and additional outbuildings were lost at Kelly’s Camp at the end of North Lake McDonald Road. Additionally, the main Kelly’s camp house, a second cabin, and other structures under National Park Service ownership were destroyed. One Kelly’s Camp home did survive the fire, as did multiple other privately owned homes and structures in other areas of North McDonald Road. 

The National Park Services believes that three outbuildings of the National Park Service-owned Wheeler residence, the Wheeler boat house and the boat house at the Lake McDonald Ranger Station were lost. The main Wheeler cabin did survive, after valiant firefighting efforts that saved it after it caught fire. 

The Lake McDonald Ranger Station was also saved, following a fire on its roof. 

Kelly’s Camp, located along the west shore of the north end of Lake McDonald, began as a cabin resort developed by Frank and Emmeline Kelly in the early years of the park. Homesteaded by Frank Kelly in 1894, by 1931 it had become a popular summer cabin resort. In the 1960s cabins were sold to individual owners, many of whom were longtime Kelly’s visitors, continuing the cabin community.

The Wheeler Complex, east of Kelly’s camp, was owned by Montana Senator Burton K. Wheeler, and was used by Senator Wheeler and his family as their summer home starting in 1916. The National Park Service acquired the property in 2014. 

“This is a heartbreaking time at the park,” said Park Superintendent Jeff Mow. “We’ve lost extremely important historic buildings that tell a piece of the park’s story, and multiple people have lost homes that have welcomed their families to the shores of Lake McDonald for generations.”

This fucking sucks. I doubt we're gonna be able to do anything in Glacier. I don't see these fires being extinguished anytime soon and the whole park is smoked out again. Looking at going to the Beartooths and the Winds instead, which means I'll need to change my flights from Denver in/out of Kalispell to Bozeman.

Pretty upset. I'll never plan a trip to Glacier this time of the year ever again. Fool me once, fool me twice, yada yada, this sucks.

Truth.

It'll likely be snow-fly before most of these fires will be brought under control. When that'll be varies by geography and elevation.

I don't think the odds of having your planned trip to Glacier screwed up by fires is any higher than anywhere else, given comparable terrain. The Beartooths and the Winds are just as susceptible to fire. In fact there are currently fire complexes in both the Beartooth-Absarokas and the Wind River Range.

It just goes to show that having a back-up location in your planning is a bit more prudent. Some years are worse for fires than others. It's always a crap-shoot, and even if you stay away from the fire complexes...you may still not be able to avoid the smoke. Just be thankful you haven't planned you trip around a once-in-a-lifetime hunting tag or a drawn permit for a raft trip.

You really want to check the National Interagency Fire Maps to see what's going on in your destination area(s). (Go to the Enterprise Geospatial Portal).

It sucks, but it's just the way it is in the intermountain west. Some years are worse than others.

Be safe.

@RTUtah

http://www.kpax.com/story/38900121/howe-ridge-fire-grows-nearly-1000-acres-in-one-day

WEST GLACIER - The Howe Ridge fire burning on the west side of Glacier National Park grew nearly 1,000 acres in one day as was anticipated by fire managers. An overnight infrared overflight provided an updated mapping of the fire perimeter, showing that the blaze now measures 3,500 acres. Park spokesperson Lauren Alley says the fire burned actively through the night, with single tree torching and spotting producing growth to the southwest.

Additional spotting and growth were observed on the north edge of the fire on the southern slope of Mount Stanton, as well as the northwest edge of the fire toward Rogers Lake.A “K-Max” Type 1 helicopter and “Huey” Type 2 helicopter dropped water on the edges of the fire throughout Wednesday afternoon and evening in order to slow fire growth. Fixed-wing aircraft were prevented from flying due to low visibility.

Some evacuated landowners were permitted to access their properties on Wednesday morning. However, some areas were deemed unsafe due to conditions and those landowners were not able to extensively access their property area, but were able to view it.
Structural protection crews continued to work to reduce risk to buildings at the head of Lake McDonald and Kelly’s Camp.

Thursday’s firefighting efforts will include structural protection and ground crews will continue to establish a hose lay at the north end of Lake McDonald. Air support will continue to be used to control fire spread as conditions allow. Thursday’s weather forecast anticipates the current ridge of high pressure to begin breaking this afternoon, resulting in increased atmospheric instability. Wind directions will change, resulting in potential for the fire to expand to the southwest and northeast.

A Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team, under the command of John Pierson, is onsite and will be taking over management of this fire at 6 a.m. on Friday.

Area closures and evacuations remain in place:
Avalanche Campground and Sprague Campground
North Lake McDonald Road (private residences and the Lake McDonald Ranger Station)
Lake McDonald Lodge Complex (all businesses, employees, and private residences)
Private residences along the Going-to-the-Sun Road

Alley notes in a news release that the Logan Pass Star Party planned for September 7th remains scheduled. The Logan Pass Star Party previously scheduled for Friday, August 17th has been canceled due to logistical considerations including west side access and visibility.
The park has established a Fire Information Line at 406-888-7077. Recorded information is available if a fire information officer is not available to answer the phone. The number is expected to change when the Type 1 Incident Management Team assumes control of the fire.

More at link.

We stayed at Lake McDonald Lodge a year ago.  While walking around the lake a female moose showed up

It's smoky here in San Francisco(Missoula) too. Hope all those fire fighters stay safe. Thanks for the updates OP.

And it's not going to get any better.

http://www.kpax.com/story/38890191/northwest-montana-air-quality-still-impacted-by-wildfire-smoke

 An air quality alert remains in effect for Flathead, Lincoln, and Sanders counties through 8 a.m. on Thursday.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality was reporting poor air quality across the region on Wednesday morning.
The air quality in Libby was listed as "unhealthy" while Thompson Falls and Kalispell were ranked as "unhealthy for sensitive groups."
The poor air quality is coming from a combination of nearby fires and a large amount of smoke pouring in from Idaho, Washington, and British Columbia.

More at link.

August 16 Northwest Zone Fire Activity Update

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd591521.pdf

Highlights: The Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team, John Pierson, Incident Commander, will take over management duties on Friday, August 17 at 0600 for the following fires: Glacier National Park’s Howe Ridge Fire and the Flathead National Forest’s Paola Ridge, Coal Ridge, and Whale Butte Fires.

This transition to the team will make more local resources available for responding to new fire starts, should the predicted weather produce lightning.

Stage II Restrictions are in effect throughout the area, except the Bob Marshall and Great Bear Wilderness areas.

http://www.mtpr.org/post/montana-wildfire-roundup-august-16-2018

Every time I see a fire that large I and then I

I'm in Longmont, CO and the entire front range is obscured by smoke, and I'm right up against them. Amazing to see the fire recovery in Yellowstone last summer. Nature is a bad bitch.

That's a badass photo.

Check out this time lapse video of the expansion of the Howe Ridge fire.

https://www.facebook.com/NBCMontana/videos/1839097659479423/?hc_ref=ARRPyMBEGQ_qUS28Ijh3HWp9luoBth8_PiArcVpm0cQx9XgpyHyNfT26bhUgEvm6y30

It also shows how "snags" are formed by the tree burning from underground. Thousands of unburned and partially burned trees left standing after a fire has passed present extreme danger to firefighters and hikers for years to come.

Damn that sucks.  I love Glacier, incredibly beautiful place.

That’s heartbreaking to watch at the end where it just leap frogs by hundreds of yards.

This sucks.

So much fire and destruction.  Right now here in Colorado we have a lot of smoke from CA.

Stop planning to go, the rest of us would like to see them too

http://www.kpax.com/story/38907204/howe-ridge-fire-holds-steady-public-meeting-set#.W3b-vHQtYw0.facebook

WEST GLACIER - The Howe Ridge fire burning on the west side of Glacier National Park held steady on Thursday and has burned 3,500 acres with 0% containment.

A Type 1 Incident Management Team has now officially taken over at the scene.
Fire managers have scheduled a meeting to discuss the strategy to battle the Whale Butte, Howe Ridge, Coal Ridge, and Paola Ridge fires at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the Columbia  Falls High School in the “little theater.”

Crews are continuing to protect the remaining structures along North Lake McDonald Road after several cabins and structures burned earlier this week. Fire managers expect that most of the Howe Ridge fire's growth is expected to happen along the northwest edge of the fire towards Rogers Lake as well as southward to Lake McDonald.

The Howe Ridge fire was sparked by lightning on August 11th.

Area closures and evacuations remain in place:
Avalanche Campground and Sprague Campground
North Lake McDonald Road (private residences and the Lake McDonald Ranger Station)
Lake McDonald Lodge Complex (all businesses, employees, and private residences)
Private residences along the Going-to-the-Sun Road

The Going-to-the-Sun Road is still closed from the foot of Lake McDonald (near Apgar) to Logan Pass. The Inside North Fork road is also closed as well as multiple trails.

The park has established a Fire Information Line at (406) 888-7077. Recorded information is available if a fire information officer is not available to answer the phone.

Jesus.  If it’s expanded like this in a place that doesn’t even look like heavy forest it should be fantastic when it hits where the dense forest is.  Looks like the whole west side of the west entrance will be cinder by November.