The National Guard is staffing the check points on the closed roads. This is to keep the areas secure and make sure they know who is in and out of the area at all times.
Rice Ridge Fire Morning Update: Today will be the last day the Fire Information board at Rovero's is staffed. The Fire Information Board at Valley Market will continue to be staffed by Rice Ridge Fire information officers along with Missoula County Sheriff's department representatives.
A community meeting will be held tomorrow, Aug. 31st at 6pm, location to be determined.
The Rice Ridge Fire grew more than 2,000 acres yesterday. It is currently 32,222 acres and 18% contained. There are 658 fire personnel on the fire.
YESTERDAY: Fire activity across the perimeter moderated. Firefighters on the northwestern edge of the fire in the Murphy Creek area had to disengage mid afternoon due to increased fire activity. Aerial resources aided in efforts to keep the fire from spreading west. Crews successfully held the previously active portion of the fire in the Morrell Creek area implementing lines and hose lays around the previous day's growth. Night operations continued those efforts throughout the evening, extinguishing hot spots and holding line. On the southwest portion of the fire, good progress was made constructing indirect line and prepping roads with sprinklers. The structure protection group maintained previously installed hose lays and portable water tanks (pumpkins). Aerial resources were unable to fly until after noon due to poor visibility.
TODAY: Crews and heavy equipment will continue to construct indirect fire line to the north and in the Murphy Creek area assessing for opportunities to build line directly along the fire's edge. Firefighters on the western edge of the fire will continue to hold the fire and extinguish areas of heat along the perimeter. In the Morrell Creek area, efforts will focus on holding the direct line while utilizing aerial resources as needed. Equipment and crews will continue to clear and remove fuel as well as install hose lays along the Cottonwood Lakes Road to the east. The structure protection group will continue with assessment and preparation in the Double Arrow, Big Sky Lake and Highway 83 corridor areas.
Today will be partly cloudy with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid 80's with 15% relative humidity. A red flag warning is in effect for 1:00 pm this afternoon through 9:00 pm tomorrow evening due to low humidity and unstable, gusty winds associated with thunder cells.
EVACUATIONS: The Missoula County Sheriff has issued multiple evacuation ORDERS and WARNINGS. The current map and description is posted on Inciweb. 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. Monday's evacuation order affected 1,028 address points.
CLOSURE: 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, Big Larch boat launch, Seeley Lake Campground boat launch, Canoe Trail and Seeley Lake waters are closed due to aerial operations related to Rice Ridge Fire suppression efforts.
IMPORTANT: Drones are prohibited in the fire vicinity &have the potential to shut down all air operations. A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) remains in place. (http://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_7_9440.html).
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