HELENA — The Horse Gulch Fire that sparked on July 9 south of York is 92% contained and has burned an estimated 15,167 acres as of Monday morning.
The fire is believed to have been human-caused. There have been no reports of damaged structures.
The diminished air quality around the Horse Gulch Fire and the Helena area is largely a result of smoke from Canadian wildfires. Residents should take measures to reduce smoke exposure when air quality dips.
Drivers are urged to reduce speed around the fire area to eliminate conflicts with emergency traffic.
On Sunday, crews finished suppression repair on private land and BLM land. To the west, along Jimtown Road, crews continued to patrol the area searching for isolated areas of heat to ensure new flare-ups do not threaten control lines.
Firefighters located and mopped up areas of remaining heat in Hellgate Gulch to minimize the potential for flare-ups.
Crews continued with suppression repair work along the Canyon Ferry Corridor and Hellgate Gulch. They are assessing fire lines created by crews and equipment and mitigating erosion potential.
On Monday, crews will move road graders in to improve roads throughout the fire area. Firefighters will continue to seek out and extinguish residual heat along the north and west flanks of the fire.
Crews will also continue cold trailing and mopping up heat sources in these areas.
Suppression repair will also continue along Magpie Gulch Road.
