River Road East Fire grows to 17,000 acres

The second public meeting regarding the River Road East Fire was held Thursday evening in the Plains High School gym, where officials stated the fire was 5% contained and had consumed more than 17,000 acres.

The state DNRC reported that they are still in a response stage of the fire with more work to do. The next stage will be recovery and to help people with their burned homes and replanting.

"I appreciate the community pulling together. The teams have been outstanding," said Sanders County Sheriff Shawn Fielders. He noted that McLaughlin Creek Road, Henry Creek Road and River Road East are still restricted to residents only. Fielders said that residents need to limit trips to town as much as possible to keep traffic down to a minimum. Contracted private security officers are enforcing these restrictions.

The fire has taken 55 structures total with 15 being primary residences. Bill Naegeli with the county Office of Emergency Management said that all animals have been taken care of and are corralled at the fairgrounds. The Red Cross shelter remains set up at the Church on the Move in Plains. "The fire is approximately 1.5 to 2 miles from the intersection on River Road West and the fairgrounds," Naegeli added.

"We will continue to see engines and local fire for a long time. Fire lines are being put in on the east and south above the Flathead River," said Justin Kaber with the fire management team. "The cliff area is being reached by Montana Rail Link transporting firefighters down the train tracks to be able to reach those fires on the cliff areas. It is very rugged and steep terrain. We are trying to come up with strategies to proceed."

Both Kaber and Fielders agreed that Quinn's Hot Springs Resort can be removed from the pre-evacuation status. "We will be ready to go back to evacuation, or pre-evacuation status whenever it is necessary," said General Manager Denise Moreth.

Future concerns lie in the forecasted hot, dry and possibly windy conditions that will resume in early September and last through November. These conditions will keep the fire danger active until sufficient snow has accumulated, according to Brian Anderson, the Fire Behavior Analyst.