Baldy Mountain fire being contained

The Forestry Department at Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation reported this morning that the fire near the top of Baldy Mountain is being contained and poses no immediate danger.

“The fire is looking really good, mostly just interior smokes,” said Chippewa Cree Tribe Fire Management Officer Jason Lodgepole.

Lodgepole said the fire was started last week by a lightning strike and was just over three acres.

He said on the first day of the fire, Saturday, Aug. 8, a small squad from the Rocky Boy Volunteer Fire Department hiked up the mountain to assess the fire and the next day they got support from a helicopter crew out of Lewistown that dropped water on the fire as they set up a perimeter to contain it.

“The heli-attack crew did some awesome work doing water support,” he said, “cooling off the perimeter while we set up a line.”

Lodgepole said the crew got a line around the northeast and northwest sides of the fire and by the end of the shift they had the fire 75 percent contained.

He said the helicopter support continued Monday while the fire crew cleaned up and reinforced the line, mopping up behind the water drops.

He said the helicopter crew was released that afternoon, and another fire crew will be going up the mountain today to do some dry mopping.

Lodgepole said while the fire is well contained, the remote nature of its location made it difficult to deal with given that it requires an almost two-hour hike to get to.

“The elevation at the top of Mount Baldy is 6,916 feet so hiking in was pretty strenuous,” he said, “… It was pretty hard on the guys.”

While that fire seems to be under control, due to extreme dry conditions and and high risk of fire, Beaver Creek Park will be banning all campfires starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

A release from park officials said Park Superintendent Chad Edgar met with Hill County Commissioners and Disaster and Emergency Services Monday afternoon and this decision is the result of those talks.

The release also said that park personnel will be putting up signage during the week and will be notifying campers about the upcoming change.

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Havre Daily News reporter Pam Burke contributed to this report.