Rice Ridge Fire Morning Update: A community meeting will be held tonight, Aug. 29 at 7 pm at the Ovando Volunteer Fire Department
The Rice Ridge Fire grew nearly 3,000 acres yesterday and is now 30,662 acres. The fire remains 22% contained. There are currently 592 fire personnel on the fire.
YESTERDAY: The fire was active yesterday along the uncontained fire edge due to hot and dry conditions. An abrupt change in afternoon wind direction caused the fire to spread south in the Seeley Creek area. Fire growth was checked with the use of significant air resources including scooper planes, VLAT's (Very Large Air Tankers), and heavy helicopters. The Missoula County Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with fire operations, made the decision to evacuate a portion of the community of Seeley Lake. Night time operations and personnel were increased in order to monitor and check fire spread throughout the night.
TODAY: Firefighters will continue to work on control lines on the north end of the fire, eventually tying into an old burn scar. Additional crews will check hot spots and bolster the contingency line to the south along the west flank of the fire. Ground crews and equipment are being relocated to the Morrell Creek area where they will flank and tie yesterday's growth into previously constructed contingency line. Equipment and firefighters will also be utilized along the Cottonwood Lakes Road to the east, clearing and moving fuel out of the area. Scouting will continue on the southeast flank of the fire where personnel will identify opportunities for the construction of contingency line.
EVACUATIONS: Approximately 1090 homes and buildings are threatened. The Missoula County Sheriff issued updated evacuation ORDERS and WARNINGS on the evening of the 28th. The updated map and description is posted on Inciweb. Previous evacuation WARNING areas remain in effect.
A shelter site is located at the UCC Church, 405 University Avenue, Missoula MT. Anyone seeking shelter may call the Red Cross of Montana at 1-800-272-6668. 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 Lodgepole and Monture Creek trails. The official closure order and map is posted on Inciweb. Big Larch Campground remains closed. In addition the Big Larch boat launch, Seeley Lake Campground boat launch, and Seeley Lake waters are closed due to aerial operations related to Rice Ridge Fire suppression efforts.
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