QUICK RESPONSE

Minuteman Aviation helicopter pilots stationed out of Missoula quickly responded to a small fire in the Minton Peak area west of Trout Creek the morning of July 31. "The fire was a smaller one that burned about a quarter acre before being extinguished by the Minuteman pilots," said Matt Martens, Assistant Fire Management Officer with the Cabinet Ranger District. "The fire appears to have been started by lightning strike activity in the area. Pilots put the fire out quickly and the crew was redirected to another location before they even had to stop to refuel," added Martens.