Howe Ridge Fire Intensified

[llholmes1948]

It would be interesting to see an overlay of the area burned in the current Howe Ridge Fire with the area burned in the Roberts fire in 2003 or by other fires. I believe the Roberts fire was the fire that burned the Loop trail in addition to other areas. The Loop trail went from a trail in the woods to an open trail. It almost got Granite Park Chalet if I recall correctly.

Lyman

I believe the Loop area up toward Granite Park was burned by the Trapper Fire which was a separate 2003 fire from the Roberts Fire.

Thanks for that correction. Hard to keep the names of those fires straight (at least to me it is since I wasn't there at the time).

Lyman

[llholmes1948]

Link to an article in the Flathead Beacon on the Red Bench fire in 1988:

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2018/08/22/r ... red-bench/

[llholmes1948]

Dave and TN,

Thanks for posting the links to those maps. They are very helpful. From a quick glance it looks like much of the area burned so far in the Howe Ridge Fire had previously burned in the Roberts Fire in 2003.

Lyman

[Ear Mountain]

Dave and TN,

Thanks for posting the links to those maps. They are very helpful. From a quick glance it looks like much of the area burned so far in the Howe Ridge Fire had previously burned in the Roberts Fire in 2003.

Lyman

That is true with the exception of some of the area in the Camas drainage. When the Roberts fire burned Howe Ridge in 2003 some of the ponderosa pine were spared by the fire. Ponderosa pine is fairly fire tolerant so long as the fire stays close to the ground and doesn't "ladder" up into the crown of the tree. Those ponderosa pines have been doing pretty well since then but new growth of lodgepole pine under the ponderosa may cause the Howe Ridge fire to reach the crowns of the ponderosa which could cause their death.

Also a fire burning in the previous fire scar could result in good things ecologically speaking. The lodgepole regrowth is thinned, many of the dead and down logs from the Roberts fire will be burned up resulting in a more open ground layer for the regrowth of new trees and a reduction in fuel available to future fires. Any ponderosa pines that remain alive will benefit from having a more open understory which is good for their survival. Of course all this is offset by the threat to people's lives and the destruction of personal property..

[tibber]

Dave and TN,

Thanks for posting the links to those maps. They are very helpful. From a quick glance it looks like much of the area burned so far in the Howe Ridge Fire had previously burned in the Roberts Fire in 2003.

Lyman

That is true with the exception of some of the area in the Camas drainage. When the Roberts fire burned Howe Ridge in 2003 some of the ponderosa pine were spared by the fire. Ponderosa pine is fairly fire tolerant so long as the fire stays close to the ground and doesn't "ladder" up into the crown of the tree. Those ponderosa pines have been doing pretty well since then but new growth of lodgepole pine under the ponderosa may cause the Howe Ridge fire to reach the crowns of the ponderosa which could cause their death.

Also a fire burning in the previous fire scar could result in good things ecologically speaking. The lodgepole regrowth is thinned, many of the dead and down logs from the Roberts fire will be burned up resulting in a more open ground layer for the regrowth of new trees and a reduction in fuel available to future fires. Any ponderosa pines that remain alive will benefit from having a more open understory which is good for their survival. Of course all this is offset by the threat to people's lives and the destruction of personal property..

______________________________________________________________________
I guess I didn't realize there was ponderosa in Glacier. As you know in AZ we have the largest stance of ponderosa.

The Largest Stand of Ponderosa Pines. The Coconino National Forest is home to the largest stand of Ponderosa Pine trees in the world. It is one of six National Forests in Arizona and covers 1.8 million acres of varied landscape and elevation.

I hike there quite a bit during the early summer.

Interesting about the previous scar burning residual effects. It makes sense.

[Ear Mountain]

Howe Ridge Fire Update for Saturday 8-25-18
Howe Ridge Fire Wildfire is now 11,518 acres
The Howe Ridge Fire was active and grew on Friday due to the arrival of a low pressure system with gusty winds. Uphill runs, group tree torching and short-range spotting created a smoke column that was visible from a distance.

At the south end of the perimeter, the fire continued to back toward the Inside North Fork Road with isolated torching in stands of lodgepole pine. Helicopters and the CL-215 “Super Scoopers” were kept busy dropping water to slow growth. Removal of dead trees and brush along the Inside North Fork continues, preparing the road to serve as a fire break. Structure protection is in place in the Fish Creek Campground.

The north end of the fire was also active, with uphill runs, group torching and short range spotting on the lower slopes below Mount Vaught. The fire is not spreading along McDonald Creek, as the area has moist fuels and is shaded. Helicopter bucket drops were used to slow fire spread towards the Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor. Sprinklers are running along the Upper McDonald Creek trails to provide additional protection for the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor.

Hoses and sprinklers are in place to protect the Trail of the Cedars and other facilities at the Avalanche Creek Campground in the event the fire reaches that area.

[PeteE]

Hopefully, relief is on the way.

http://www.glacier.nationalparkschat.co ... 59#p106159

pete

[Ear Mountain]

I'm hoping for some higher elevation snow in addition to a good wetting rain!

[PeteE]

There was snow this morning at Logan Pass. Pretty much melted now.

Here's a screen shot from the Apgar Lookout web cam at 3PM today
Looking the better than anytime in the last 2 weeks.
Very little smoke on this side of Howe ridge.



Looking toward Bad Rock Canyon and the park from near the KGPI airport at around 2PM

[jacomus]

Selfishly, I hope this fire gets under control now. Our small group are making our maiden voyage on September 10th from the Midwest and tent camping just outside of St Mary’s. Currently, wood fires are banned under a level 2 fire restrictions (understandably) but that’s gonna make for some awfully cold evenings without a camp fire. We made need contingency plans. <sigh>

[PeteE]

Selfishly, I hope this fire gets under control now. Our small group are making our maiden voyage on September 10th from the Midwest and tent camping just outside of St Mary’s. Currently, wood fires are banned under a level 2 fire restrictions (understandably) but that’s gonna make for some awfully cold evenings without a camp fire. We made need contingency plans. <sigh>

September 10th is a good ways off.
If another front like this past one comes through next week, it's possible the fire restriction could be lifted.
Things have to get "wet" first.
I don't know how much rain St Mary got.

You're not selfish.
I have plans for Sept.8-11.
I also work in the gambling business
So I'm betting conditions will be pretty good by this coming weekend.

pete

[jacomus]

September 10th is a good ways off.
If another front like this past one comes through next week, it's possible the fire restriction could be lifted.
Things have to get "wet" first.
I don't know how much rain St Mary got.

You're not selfish.
I have plans for Sept.8-11.
I also work in the gambling business
So I'm betting conditions will be pretty good by this coming weekend.

pete

Ha! Well, I'd side with you on that bet, then. That said, I called the Ranger Service on another matter and they're much less optimistic about lifting the restriction and advised we "layer up". Thanks a lot
We're camping just outside of the park which follows the rules of the Reservation about fire restrictions but I have feeling they're going to do whatever NPS does.

In any case, good luck to you- I hope to see it restricted ASAP.

[joybird]

A Montana friend just sent me this link and I thought y'all might enjoy seeing some of the South African firefighters who were at the Loop this week.
Make sure your sound is on, and scroll down to the video :

http://kingfm.com/south-african-hot-sho ... onal-park/

I'm not on social media so forgive me if this has already made the rounds...

I had no idea that crews were flown in from so far away!

[llholmes1948]

A fire update from the Inter Lake:

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/local_new ... _5_million

[tibber]

A Montana friend just sent me this link and I thought y'all might enjoy seeing some of the South African firefighters who were at the Loop this week.
Make sure your sound is on, and scroll down to the video :

http://kingfm.com/south-african-hot-sho ... onal-park/

I'm not on social media so forgive me if this has already made the rounds...

I had no idea that crews were flown in from so far away!

I've seen videos of these various crews working the fires; it's pretty awesome I think.

I know it's off topic but
It just so happens, my parents took home movies of South African dancers back in 1964; the rhythm appears to still be much of the same. Who knows, some of these dancers may be grandfathers of these guys. This video is of a 1964 Bantu Dancers competition: