'An absolute firefight' saved Maverick Mountain, Elkhorn Hot Springs from Sand Creek fire

“Yesterday was a firefight, it was an absolute firefight,” Knaub said, specifically referencing concerted efforts to save structures at Maverick Mountain ski area and Elkhorn Hot Springs as the 27,736-acre Sand Creek fire grew toward the east.

“Those folks were doing everything they can,” he said. “Those people who were managing the structure protection measures in Elkhorn Hot Springs had fire on one side and fire on another.”

Eventually, conditions became so threatening that the structure protection crews had to evacuate, but Knaub — who is with the Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 3 — said they first ensured related equipment was running.

A chairlift at Maverick Mountain was damaged but other structures were saved.

Matt Butler, a fire behavior analyst for Team 3, talked during the briefing about the critical fire conditions, including low humidity and high temperatures, that had challenged efforts to fight the Sand Creek fire in preceding days.

But weather conditions should moderate in the days ahead, he said, and chances for rain are good.

The Sand Creek fire, about 7.5 miles southeast of Wisdom, started one day after the Bobcat Lakes fire, about 13 miles southwest of Wise River. Both are burning in the West Pioneers.

As the Sand Creek fire continues to move, Knaub said, it could threaten the remaining structures or remnants of structures at the Coolidge Ghost Town off the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway.

“Unfortunately, where Coolidge is, it’s one way in and one way out,” he said. “We, at this time, will not commit anybody down in there.”

That could change, he said, if conditions moderate.

The Big Hole Valley Historical Society has expressed concern that structure protection work has not been completed at Coolidge.

Knaub expressed gratitude for help from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and for the availability of hotshot crews, which are highly trained fire crews used mainly to build fireline by hand. There were nearly 600 personnel working the fire as of Thursday.

“We’ve had the resources here to do what we have been able to do successfully, and that’s key,” Knaub said. “I just found out we’ve got a crew coming from Mississippi Friday, so resources are coming.”

Before Wednesday’s fire briefing, Alan and Cheri Eck took a seat in the second row of folding chairs. They had recently left their home in the Grasshopper Valley after an order to evacuate from the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office.

“I really didn’t expect to have to leave, but my wife pushed me,” Alan Eck said. “We’re out of the timber. We’re kind of in the sagebrush.”

The Ecks are staying with friends in Dillon.

How does Alan Eck feel about being away from home, with a strong wildfire in the neighborhood?

“Uneasy,” he said. “But what can you do? They are doing the best they can.”

Eck said he watched as people worked together to drive cattle out of fire-threatened summer pasture to lower-elevation grazing terrain.

“The cattle are used to coming out in the fall, but it’s two months early and it’s hard to move them,” he said.

Claire and Michael Wunderlin, who own a cabin by Elkhorn Hot Springs, also attended Wednesday's meeting in Jackson. The couple had been evacuated from their home and were staying in their RV at the campground at Jackson Hot Springs for the night.

Claire said they'd experienced a fire on their property in Bastrop, Texas, which was part of what brought them to Montana. While visiting a friend in Bozeman, they saw the property in Polaris was for sale. Since 2014, they've spent their summers in Montana.

Despite their evacuee status, the couple's spirits were high. Michael played music through a speaker while Claire mixed vodka lemonades inside the RV.

Claire said they learned from the last fire to grab what's important to them. For her, that included a large tote of books. For Michael, it was a bag of silk scarves he's spent years collecting.

The couple said they felt hopeful they'd be back in their home before it's time for them to head to Ruidoso, New Mexico, where they spend their winters.

Meanwhile, Knaub talked about tactics underway to help manage the Sand Creek fire, including dozer lines.

Direct handline was built from the top of Maverick Mountain down to Grasshopper Creek to hold the fire north of the Maverick lodge, according to Team 3. Dozer line progresses along the west of Grasshopper Valley from Shale Creek to Divide Creek and will tie into Forest Service Road 928. Firefighters will continue cooling residual heat near structures at Maverick Mountain and Elkhorn Hot Springs, Team 3 said.

Corey Lewellen, acting forest supervisor for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, spoke during the briefing.

“Obviously, we’re having a really tough fire season,” he said.

Lewellen said fire crews with the forest had responded to 107 fires this summer and caught 104 “in that initial attack kind of period.”

That leaves three fires on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge that continue to burn, he said — the Moose fire near Philipsburg, the Sand Creek fire and the Bobcat Lakes fire.

The Bobcat Lakes fire started on July 31, followed the next day by the Sand Creek fire. No cause has been determined. 

“And, unfortunately, we just did not have a very good window to be able to get in there and try to put them out, let alone how fast they grew,” Lewellen said.

“I don’t remember the last time we had five or six days of red flag conditions in a row that were pushing this [Sand Creek] fire as fast as it did,” he said.

Red flag conditions typically refer to strong winds, low humidity, warm temperatures and dry vegetation.

Knaub shared similar thoughts.

“We had about four to five days of these kinds of days, right?” he said. “And that’s why we’re where we are now, with the significant, constant growth of this fire, specifically out to the east.”

The Bobcat Lakes fire has not grown as exponentially. Its estimated size Thursday morning was 9,680 acres.

Knaub said structure protection at Jerked Prairie will remain in place “until this fire backs down.”

He said burnout operations have been successful in limiting the spread of the Bobcat Lakes fire. A burnout sets fire inside a control line to widen it or consume fuel between the edge of the fire and the control line.

“Overall, Bobcat’s looking pretty good,” Knaub said. “We’re pretty confident in what we have going on.”

Megan Nielsen contributed to this report.