Firefighters from the Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District quickly staffed a wildfire, called the Bass Pond Fire, Sunday evening.

Burning between the Clark Fork River and the railroad tracks across the river from mile marker 18 on Highway 135, crews used boats to gain access to the human-caused blaze and limited its growth to approximately three-quarters of an acre.

With the fire contained, firefighters continued to work towards completely extinguishing it Monday. Right next to the railroad tracks, the fire prompted Montana Rail Link to reduce the speed of train traffic through the fire area, but the highway and railway was never closed by suppression activities.

U.S. Forest Service personnel also responded to and put out another human-caused fire in the Corona Ridge area north of Plains last week. Plains/Thompson Falls RD personnel, bolstered by Montana DNRC personnel from the Plains Unit, controlled that fire at a little over a tenth of an acre.

Although it has been a relatively slow summer for wildland fire starts this year, managers realize that there is a lot of fire season left, and that conditions are already worsening.

Plains/Thompson Falls Fire Management Officer (FMO) Scott Schrenk said that most fire control agencies in eastern Sanders County will move into "High" fire danger ratings, up from "Moderate" later this week.

In the west end of Sanders County, Cabinet Ranger District Assistant FMO Dustin Pierson said that his office has not responded to any new wildfires since a single-tree, lightning-caused fire was put out about two weeks ago. He added that the Cabinet will remain in Moderate fire danger at least through the coming week.

To find information on any wildland fire in Sanders County, please visit the "Sanders County Wildland Fire Information" page on Facebook for the latest details, as this page is supported by all fire-control agencies who operate in the county, including the U.S. Forest Service, the Montana DNRC and the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes.