Winds fuel River Road East Fire near Paradise

High winds that wreaked havoc around the town of Paradise on Friday subsided overnight, slowing the advance of the wind-fueled River Road East Fire that began during the afternoon along the railroad tracks near the Clark Fork River.

Gusts that were strong enough to create dust devils in open lots across Montana 200 from the small community quickly spread the scope of the fire to include mountain slopes on both sides of Paradise.

Those winds carried embers that created numerous spot fires and jumped Montana 200 while residents with garden hoses stood ready to fight back.

“I’m on fire watch,” said Paradise resident Lee Ann Overman, who earlier had proclaimed “this is my town and I’m not leaving.”

The fire was approximately 13,414 acres in size Sunday and 0% contained. Brent Olson’s Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 1 assumed command of the fire on Saturday night. Additional fire personnel and equipment were arriving to support suppression efforts.

According to the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office, Paradise was on pre-evacuation status as of about midday Saturday as was Henry Creek Road, Quinn’s Hot Spring Resort and Camp Bighorn. Authorities had closed McLaughlin Creek Road and placed it under evacuation status.

The Montana Red Cross opened a shelter at the Church on the Move, 300 Clayton St., Plains, on Friday.

A small army of firefighters from a wide array of federal, state and local agencies descended on the town after the fire was reported around noon Friday. There has been no official confirmation, but sparks from a passing train may have been the cause of the fire. The recent hot weather and lack of rain created tinder dry conditions throughout the area over the past month.

One load of retardant was dropped by aircraft Saturday to protect Pat’s Knob Lookout and communications site. On the north side of the highway fire crews made progress constructing control line near structures and the active fire perimeter in Paradise. They also started working to anchor control lines up the slopes both east and west of Paradise.

The Plains Town Pump was awash in exhausted looking firefighters who had been battling fires that extended close to Plains by late afternoon Friday. The Town Pump’s delicatessen cases were quickly cleaned out of the array of breakfast sandwiches they normally contain as hungry firefights fueled themselves and their vehicles at the pumps outside.

“I’ve been working above [east] the town of Plains all night,” said one exhausted looking young firefighter as he gassed up at the pumps.

Meanwhile, a drive through the streets of Paradise, an unincorporated town of less than 200 residents, showed no structures within the town limits had been touched by the fires. A fire line along the northern edge of the town had been bulldozed to help keep the fire from spreading into the community while several spot fires with bright orange flames burned along the adjacent mountain slope.

Friday's winds severely hampered the use of aerial firefighting assets, although helicopters were seen heading that way early Saturday morning.

“Sometimes you just have to hold the line and get out of the way,” said a Forest Service official in reference to the swirling winds of Friday.

Rumors that the town’s old school house, which has been transformed into a vibrant community center, had burned down were not true. A check of the property Saturday morning showed a small charred area near the school, but that fire had been extinguished by firefighters, who stood guard on the center grounds to keep the popular structure safe from harm.

"I feel like there is someone watching over this town," Overman said Saturday morning.