Firefighters and responding crews are still working to get a handle on the Sand Creek Fire, and now they'll have federal money behind them after the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant last Friday to help cover the costs.
During Monday's morning briefing, Northern Rockies Complex operations section chief Philip Knaub said the Sand Creek Fire has grown to 31,652 acres and remains at 1% containment. While crews on the western and northern edges of the fire are cutting line and prepping burnouts, Knaub said that crews in the vicinity of Maverick Mountain are fighting a “dirty burn.”
A dirty burn, Knaub said, refers to a fire that's burned in a patchy, inconsistent way rather than clean and continuous, leaving pockets of unburned fuel and hot spots scattered throughout the area.
“When we get into that kind of burn, it’s hard to get a good, thorough mop-up,” Knaub said. “So it does take a lot of time and effort. They’ll be working in there again today, hopefully in anticipation of seeing some containment.”
As the Sand Creek fire stretches into its 17th day, FEMA Region 8 announced in a Monday press release the authorization of a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant, which the state requested on Friday.
“At the time of the request, the Sand Creek Fire was threatening more than 170 homes and other infrastructure, including commercial buildings, communications, utilities, transportation and emergency-response facilities,” the release states.
The grant is available to assist with 75% of firefighting costs for fires that threaten to cause a “major disaster.” The Sand Creek Fire meets that criteria because of its magnitude combined with its proximity to other wildfires, according to the release.
“The fire is also burning five miles from the uncontained Bobcat Fire, raising the risk the two fires could merge into one larger fire,” the release states. “There are currently several active wildfires in Montana that have burned more than 60,000 acres statewide.”
The Bobcat Lakes Fire, which started July 31 southwest of Wise River, is currently at 9,791 acres. Knaub said Monday morning that crews have bumped containment up to 19%, as the east side moves into a cleanup phase and fire activity on the north line remains "fairly benign.”
Knaub said crews are now focused mostly on the southern line, hoping the weather cooperates enough in coming days for a full burnout. A burnout means intentionally burning fuel ahead of the fire so there's nothing left for it to consume when it gets there. But the method requires the right wind and humidity conditions to prevent the fire from becoming uncontrollable.
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