STEVENSVILLE — The Sharrott Creek Fire near Stevensville was active Tuesday night as it crept closer to the boundary with private property.
Strong wind gusts on Tuesday night caused the Sherrott Creek Fire to jump containment lines that prompted residents in nearby homes to not be allowed to check on their properties on Wednesday.
"We've got about 100-acre area where it both slopped over the line and we have spot fires," said Northern Rockies Team Public Information Officer Jeni Garcin.
The winds blew the fire east, pushing it closer to the valley floor and Stevensville.
"We did have some night crews working including the Helena Interagency hotshot crew, an Alaska fire module and some dozers. The main objective is to keep the fire from moving east to private property," Garcin told MTN
Crews have been working tirelessly to fortify fire lines.
"The southeast portion of the fire was where the most heat was moving further east of that was where that dozer line was put in," Garcin said.
While winds were still active on Wednesday, lower temperatures made for better firefighting weather.
"Working with an incident, meteorologist and fire behavior analyst and they're providing information to crews on what is expected," Garcin explained. "We do have slightly higher relative humidities as well as cooler temperatures. So that helps moderate fire behavior."
The evacuation orders and warnings put in place by the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office remain in place.
"The evacuation orders have not changed since Friday night, which is a good thing. We have not had to expand orders or do anything different there," noted Ravalli County Sheriff Steven Holton.
However, because of Tuesday's weather, some residents were not able to visit their evacuated homes.
"Especially with just firefighting operations going on at Sharrott Creek, Porcupine Lane, Blue Grouse that all those areas were just — it simply wasn't safe to let people in," Sheriff Holton told MTN.
The fire operations team and the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office are urging the public to be aware of the closures as well as the crews moving around town.
"Firefighter and public safety is always our top priority. And so those evacuations are in place for a reason," Garcin said. "Closures are in place for a reason and it really helps our crews be able to do their job if we can stay out of their way."
Evacuated residents were allowed back in on Thursday morning to check on their properties.
Evacuation orders remain in effect for the following areas:
- West of the intersection of Kootenai Creek Road and Timber Trail, including homes on Timber Trail.
- West of the west side of Sharrott Hill Loop, including homes on Blue Grouse Lane, Redtail Hawk Lane, and Porcupine Lane.
- Marmot Lane
- Saint Mary's Lookout Road, west of Saint Marys Road.
Evacuation warnings are in effect for the following areas:
- North Kootenai Creek Road and west of Wankantanka Way.
- West of the east side of Sharrot Hill Loop.
- West of Salish Trail.
- West of the intersection of Saint Mary's Road and Salish Trail.
- West of Saint Mary's Road to the intersection of Indian Prairie Loop.
A recorded message is available on the Ravalli County Emergency Operation Center line at 406-375-6650. Residents are advised to download the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office App to receive information regarding evacuation orders and changes.
People are also encouraged to register with Hyper-Link to receive emergency notifications from the Ravalli County Office of Emergency Management.
