evacuations

Cooler temperatures and some much needed precipitation encouraged some evacuations to be lifted in Missoula and Mineral counties.

So far, over 300 residents have been evacuated due to the West Fork Fish Creek fire burning between Mineral and Missoula Counties.

Mineral County and parts of Missoula County underwent new fire evacuations this past weekend as the West Fork Fish Creek Fire continued to grow to over 12,000 acres. But within the past 48 hours, fire information officer Kim Smolt said clear skies have finally led firefighters to get eyes on the fire for the first time since the fire started.

Missoula County Sheriff's deputies have spent the day assisting their Mineral County counterparts in helping to evacuate residents in the area in the path of the West Fork Fish Creek fire complex.

Lightning sparked a fire that ignited Thursday in the Ninemile Ranger District. It’s grown to 2,900 acres since then. The fire is located about 15 miles southwest of Tarkio, west of Missoula.

The Sheep Fire, part of the Thompson-Divide Complex, blew up on Thursday, prompting the closure of an 8-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 2 and evacuation notices for more than 100 homes and businesses. However, NBC Montana reports clouds and heavy smoke made the Sheep Fire less active on Friday.

Mandatory evacuations were issued yesterday afternoon in the town of Essex as the Sheep Fire overwhelms Flathead County.

Residents of Essex and surrounding areas are preparing themselves to evacuate due to a nearby fire called Sheep Fire.

Evacuation levels in Glacier National Park are being downgraded as the weather improves and more firefighters arrive to battle the blaze.

The fiery derailment of an oil train in Lynchburg,Virginia last week, has local emergency officials elsewhere concerned about their ability to respond to such accidents.

UPDATE - Thursday, August 29, 7 a.m. Peter Christian spoke with Fire Information Officer Dave Schmitt on the Montana Morning radio show. Schmitt said the fire is now 70 percent contained.

Those scratch-and-sniff cards that energy companies send to customers to teach them to recognize the artificial smell added to natural gas work pretty well.