Montana News Roundup: Blazes Burn, Firefighters Make Progress

The number of new fire starts dropped dramatically across the state yesterday, with Montana DNRC reporting just 5 new starts, the lowest that number has been in more than a week.

Even so, there are still blazes causing concern, including the dangerous Windy Rock Fire, which has now burned over 3300 acres in Powell County. The hazard is being driven by the difficult terrain, but also because it's burning in an area of extreme drought.

Crews are continuing to try and hammer through dozer lines and deal with spot fires. Evacuation orders remain in place for residences southwest of Helmville.

The Knowles Fire, which has burned over 3600 acres near Paradise in Sanders County, is now 16% contained. Crews have been using heavy equipment and burnout operations along the fire's northwest perimeter to slow the spread into new territory.

The Bivens Creek and Cloudrest fires continue to burn on the Western side of the Tobacco Root Mountains. They've burned a combined total of nearly 5000 acres. The Windy Rock Fire in Powell County continues to be a major concern, burning over 3300 acres with no containment in tinder-dry forest.

     However, firefighters now have 75% containment on the state's largest fire, the Mission Butte Fire in Big Horn County.

Fallen firefighter identified

The Madison County Sheriff's Office is identifying the firefighter who died after suffering a heart attack on the fire lines over the weekend as a veteran firefighter from Oregon.

Ruben Gonzales Romero was from Keizer, Oregon, and had been a wildland firefighter for 20 years. He collapsed while working on the Bivens Creek Fire and could be resuscitated.

Kalispell health facility flooded with fumes

Operations at the Logan Health Fitness Center in Kalispell were stopped yesterday after there was a chemical reaction involving some chlorine in the facility.

As a precaution, employees, members, and patients were evacuated from the building, so cleanup in cooperation with Kalispell Fire could be completed.

     There was no immediate info on the cause of the spill.

Teen drowns on Flathead Lake

News of another drowning on Flathead Lake, this time a 16-year-old Kalispell teen who fell off a boat over the weekend.

The Flathead County Sheriff's Office says the drowning happened in the Lakeside area, with reports indicating the boy had fallen off the front of the boat while it was moving and couldn't be located. An initial search with rescue boats, divers, drones, and even aircraft couldn't find him. But he was located on Sunday with the help of sonar.

Searchers still can't find missing hiker

Red Lodge Fire Rescue continues to look for a hiker missing since he apparently fell into a dangerous gorge earlier this summer. The hiker vanished on the trail below Rimrock Lake, but recovery efforts have been hampered by the rugged terrain and dangerous conditions along the creek. An additional search late last week produced no breakthroughs, but searchers plan to bring in search dogs and other resources to try and close the case.

Bats cleared, Hamilton School plans to open

Hamilton School District leaders are sticking with their plan to reopen Hamilton Middle School next week, after a discovery of bats in the old building forced a delay in classes restarting. Maintenance personnel have been cleaning the building, with classes still scheduled to resume on September 2nd.

Sidney man surrenders after overnight hostage incident

It took hours of negotiations, but Sidney Police were able to end an armed hostage situation Monday afternoon with no one being injured. Officers say a 48-year-old man had barricaded himself in a home Sunday night and refused to let a woman leave. No progress was made, but the Billings SWAT team was called in, with negotiators finally convincing the man to let the woman go around 1 pm, followed by his own surrender.