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Road closure in Beaver Creek extended to Taylor Road
East Fork Fire Management Officer Theron Oats of the Chippewa Cree Tribe's Forestry Department talks to people on the fire line in the Bear Paw Mountains. Oats was directing people to different positions and jobs, talking about tactical air support flying in the sky reporting the location of the fire, the crews on the ground and aircraft that are used to drop water and retardant on the fire.
Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean said late this morning that the East Fork Fire that started on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation Sunday has spread to the northeast and is leading to further road restrictions on Beaver Creek Park.
"The fire has traveled into Miners Gulch significantly, and it is unpredictable at this point," McLean said.
She said officials are extending the road closure in Beaver Creek Park to Taylor Road, and no campers or recreationists are to go to cabins or campsites south of that point.
She said the fire is not yet on the park, but Miners Gulch is a contact point with Beaver Creek, and with difficult fire-fighting terrain in the gulch, if it spreads it could enter the park.
Officials said Tuesday night that the fire had consumed about 1,000 acres of reservation and private land, adding that the goal today was to keep it contained and to push back as much as possible.
Bob Jones of Bureau of Indian Affairs and Rocky Mountain Regional Office Fire Plans said Tuesday evening that today's hot and windy forecast will make battling the blaze difficult, just as was the case Tuesday.
Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation personnel flew over the area and provided a map depicting how close the fire was to Beaver Creek Park, Hill County Commissioner Mike Wendland said. It appeared, Wendland said earlier this morning, that the fire was within a mile to a mile and half of the south end.
Jones said the fire was between 10 and 15 percent contained as of Tuesday evening, with 60 percent of the charred land private and the rest reservation land. No evacuations have been ordered and no one has been injured, Jones said. The area is at stage 1 fire restriction. Fires are not allowed on the reservation or on the park, he said.
The East Fork Fire was reported about 4 p.m. Sunday. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
In addition to the Bear Paw, Wildhorse and Kremlin volunteer fire department crews and DNRC and tribal personnel, Jones said a 20-person Type 2 Initial Attack Firefighting Crew out of Missouri had arrived to help Tuesday.
The fire had also led to a partial closing of Beaver Creek Park by Tuesday morning.
Assistant to the Park Superintendent Aubrey Williams said in a press release Tuesday that people are not allowed to camp south of the Lions Campground at the highway bridge because of the fire
"We also ask that nonemergency personnel stay away from the very south end of the park and the fire area," Williams said.
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