Mobile home involved in blaze at Weeksville
A helicopter drops water on a fire in Weeksville Aug. 10.
Firefighters respond to a blaze in Weeksville on Friday, Aug. 10. (Erin Jusseaume photos/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Low winds helped firefighters get around the fire to put perimeters in place, though dry conditions made for optimal burning conditions. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Three of the four helicopters that were apart of the attack on Friday afternoon and evening dipped into the Clark Fork River, which was in close proximity to the fire. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
The fire quickly moved up the rock ridge through the forest as firefighters scrambled to get around the front of it. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
The Chinook Helicopter joined in the efforts for air attaack on the Weeksville fire. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
The Weeskville fire started at the back of the main house. A single-wide mobile home, propane tank and two garden shed were lost, and this was all that was left. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
EMT personnel were on standby at the residence along Highway 200 where the fire began. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Sanders County dispatch took an emergency call last Friday afternoon, Aug. 10, of a trailer home on fire at a private residence along Highway 200 in Weeksville. The call came in about 2:50 p.m.
There was one male adult and a couple of children home at the time; however, no injuries were reported as all got to safety quickly.
As fire crews scrambled to get to the house, a barbecue propane tank was said to have disintigrated at the house where the fire began.
Firefighters from several departments responded to the fire, which began to spread north up a close-by hillside.
Ground personnel from Plains-Paradise Rural Fire, Plains City, DNRC, Thompson Falls City Fire, Thompson Falls Rural Fire and the U.S. Forest Service all converged to area within the first two hours.
Along with a large quantity of ground crew there was also heavy air support that aided the efforts with four helicopters accompanied by a SEAT plane and four engine aerial tankers.
As of Monday morning, Plains-Paradise Rural Fire Chief James Russell said, “The cause of the fire is undetermined at this stage of the investigation.”
Both the Weeksville fire and Munson fire, the latter which began Saturday evening, are being co-managed by a Type 3 Incident Management Team on the Plains-Thompson Falls Ranger District.
The approximate 54-acre Weeksville fire is now considered 70 percent contained.
Originally there were close to 100 personnel assigned to this fire, as the direction of climb put several houses in immediate danger and as the weekend rolled around there was also a Red Flag Warning in place.
Due to the landscape to which this fire was situated, quick-acting air support was credited largely with preventing the fire from spreading quickly. That “take-off” fire that moved into the forest landscape was a direct cause for the trailer catching on fire.
Ben Coe, the owner of the residence, said he was happy his grandson and great-grand children were unharmed from the incident, and only material items were lost.
While firefighters took to the air and the ground, other authorities had to ensure that floaters seen in the river quickly got out of the water.
Just before and after the bridge at the Weeksville turnoff, the Sanders County game warden had to get down the bank to get people out of the water as the helicopters where dipping in that area as it was the closest point to get water.
Crews were able to save other nearby residences and continued to work throughout the days and nights over the weekend to continue containing the fire.
The Chief Mountain Hot Shots arrived to the Weeksville fire on Saturday morning to aid in the beginning stages of mop-up.
The incident commander of the Weeksville fire says some resources are being released from that fire, including a 20-person crew, a helicopter, a couple of engines and a water tender.
Mop-up operations will continue in the coming days on both the Weeksville and Munson fires until they are declared controlled.
Munson Fire
Early evening on Saturday, Aug. 11 saw a small fire of about one acre along the rocky ridge at Eddy Flats on Forest Service protection.
Another cross-departmental effort was made, including immediate air support to extinguish the fire.
Authorities believe it was started by a downed power line at the time; there were approximately 20 personnel on the ground.
No homes or structures were under immediate threat with ground ensuring no possible spreading of any possible hot spots.
Eddy Mountain lookout turned in the fire alert to authorities.
As of Monday morning, it was said the one-acre Munson fire is 100 percent contained.
Bold Peak Fire
As reported by time of press via the new Sanders County Wildland Fire Information Facebook Page; “The Plains Unit of the Montana DNRC also had good news concerning the Bold Peak fire burning 35 air miles north of Plains in Flathead County. The 15 firefighters working that incident today [August 12, 2018]contained and controlled the 1.1 acre blaze, placing it in patrol status and returning to station by the end of the shift. The workforce was a combination of DNRC personnel from the Plains and Kalispell units.”