Rice Ridge Fire Saturday Morning Update

Rice Ridge Fire Morning Update: The next community meeting will be Monday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. at Seeley Lake Elementary.

The Rice Ridge Fire grew nearly 1,000 acres yesterday. It is now 18,840 acres and is 16% contained. There are currently 486 personnel working on the fire.

YESTERDAY: With lower relative humidity and higher temperatures, the fire was more active primarily in the east where it pushed across the North Fork of Cottonwood Creek toward Dunham Point. Water buckets from helicopters were used to cool hot spots. Along the western flank of the fire, crews continued to establish, strengthen and monitor fire lines. The contingency line along the northeast corner and eastern edges of the Double Arrow development was completed.

TODAY: Air resources will continue to assist firefighting operations across the fire throughout the day as weather conditions allow. Structure assessment and preparation continues to the east and southeast. Supervisors are scouting for opportunities to establish control lines in front of the fire to the east. Crews will continue to tie into existing roadways to establish and improve fire lines. Heavy equipment will be used to haul slash and stack material to thin out over grown areas around control lines.

Today will be partly cloudy with areas of smoke. Temperatures will increase to the mid 80's with the relative humidity dropping through the day. Winds will be breezy and out of the west 6 to 10 mph later in the day with gusts to 15. The weather pattern will begin to be warmer and dryer as high pressure begins to build over the area.

RESOURCES THREATENED: Approximately 1090 homes and buildings are threatened

EVACUATIONS: The Missoula County Sheriff issued the following on 8/24/2017:

An Evacuation ORDER for the area along Forest Service Rd 17507 which runs north into North Cottonwood Canyon was issued due to an immediate fire threat near the Rice Ridge Fire; two cabins have been affected.

An Evacuation WARNING has been issued for residents in the Kozy Korner Meadows area. Eastern boundary starts in the 7500 block of Woodworth Road and runs west to Cottonwood Lakes Road, then north through the Rich Ranch. There are 15 homes in the warning area. This also includes the Black Canyon Ranch which is the only property located on the south side of Woodworth Road in the warning area.

An evacuation WARNING issued within areas of Seeley Lake (including Double Arrow Ranch), remains in effect and residents are urged to be prepared. In the event of an evacuation order, residents will be directed to a new shelter site located at the UCC Church, 405 University Avenue, Missoula MT. Residents of the area should sign up for Smart911 at https://www.smart911.com/ to ensure they receive messages about potential evacuations.

CLOSURES: A closure order in effect for the areas surrounding the Rice Ridge Fire includes the Lodge Pole and Monture Creek trails. A map and the official closure order is posted on Inciweb. Big Larch Campground is still closed but the boat launch is open. Recreationists are strongly urged to keep the area clear for ongoing helicopter bucket operations on Seeley Lake.

Important: Drones are prohibited in the fire vicinity & have the potential to shut down all air operations.