Wind whips wildfire in Glacier National Park
A wind-blown wildfire near Grizzly Point in Montana's Glacier National Park closed a major road through the park and prompted evacuations late Tuesday.
“It’s growing quite quickly,” park spokeswoman Denise Germann said.
By 9 p.m. Mountain time the fire, which first was reported at 3:45 p.m., had grown to an estimated 800 to 1,000 acres. It was moving quickly in heavy timber with extreme spread potential, Germann said.
Rising Sun Motor Inn, operated by Glacier National Park Lodges, and Rising Sun Campground, were evacuated Tuesday evening, she said.
Park rangers and personnel were searching for backcountry hikers in the area to evacuate them.
People who were on the road at the time of the fire were shuttled out of the area, she said.
“It’s smoky up here and nobody really knows how big the fire is,” Chris Rossmiller said at 8:34 p.m. from Rising Sun, where he said firefighters were spraying down buildings.
Rossmiller, of Kalispell, Montana, works for the Federal Highway Administration and was working with construction crews on Going-to-the-Sun Road when the fire started a little after 3 p.m. and quickly grew, fueled by winds.
“By about 4:50 (p.m.) it started getting really big,” Rossmiller said.
Workers shut down operations when they realized how close the fire was getting to a staging area, and rushed to get construction equipment off the road and to lower ground where it wouldn’t get hit by fire, Rossmiller said.
The fire is burning approximately six miles east of Logan Pass.
Glacier National Park, in the Northern Rocky Mountains near the Canada border, encompasses more than a million acres of forests, alpine meadows, lakes and some remnant glaciers.
Going-to-the-Sun Road, the winding 50 mile road that traverses the park and provides breathtaking views, is closed from the St. Mary entrance on the east side and Avalanche on the west side, and there is no access to any trails or backcountry areas from the road. The parking areas of St. Mary Visitor Center and Apgar Visitor center have been established as gathering areas for park visitors who may have been separated from their group.
At this point there is no estimate for how long the road will be closed, and a temporary flight restriction is in place over the fire, Germann said.
The cause of the blaze is still unknown, Germann said.
A Type II Interagency Incident Command Team has been ordered and should arrived Wednesday, Germann said.
Resources from Flathead National Forest, Glacier County, East Glacier, Babb, St. Mary and Cut Bank fire departments, Blackfeet Fire Management, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Evergreen and West Valley Fire Departments and Flathead County are assisting Glacier National Park.
Park dispatch received numerous reports of the fire from shuttle bus drivers, Glacier Boat Co. employees, park employees and visitors.