The Ratio Mountain Fire, located 15 miles northwest of Whitehall, MT between Ratio Mountain and Whitetail Reservoir, is burning in an area that has recently experienced several large fires. Fire footprints (or previously burned areas) lie to the north (State Creek Fire of 2020), the south (McClusky Fire of 2019), and the west (Placer Fire of 2021) of the fire location.
These areas contain a large concentration of standing dead trees (“snags”) that pose challenges to ensuring firefighter safety and in responding to potential medical emergencies, jeopardizing the well-being of all responders.
Current as of | Fri, 11/08/2024 - 10:04 |
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Incident Time Zone | America/Denver |
Incident Type | Wildfire |
Cause | Lightning |
Date of Origin | |
Location | 15 miles northwest of Whitehall, MT. |
Incident Commander | Matt Racicot Noah Criner (T) |
Coordinates |
46° 2' 43'' Latitude
-112° 11' 46
'' Longitude
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Total Personnel: | 74 |
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Size | 1,158 Acres |
Fuels Involved | The entire area, including the previous fire footprints and the area immediately surrounding the Ratio Mountain fire, contains a large concentration of standing dead trees (“snags”) that pose challenges to ensuring firefighter safety and in responding to potential medical emergencies, jeopardizing the well-being of firefighters and other responders. |
Significant Events | Short Crown Runs Group Torching Isolated Torching
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Planned Actions |
Crews will continue to monitor and engage fire as needed near the cabin. In addition, crews will hold and improve the east flank, and other areas that fire has been brought to on the holding lines. |
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Projected Incident Activity |
Isolated torching with backing and creeping. Fire will continue moving uphill and to the northwest. Potential for short crown runs on the northwest flank if outflow winds hit the fire. |
Remarks |
Fire managers from the Forest, working in collaboration with local Jefferson County officials and cooperating agency representatives from the DNRC and BLM, have identified, mapped, and prioritized critical values at risk in and around the fire area. These inter-agency, values-based discussions are critical in fire management, informing the decision-making process for incident management. The northern, eastern, and southern edges of the fire are currently where fire managers want them, preventing forward progression of the fire toward critical values at risk. Recent strategic firing operations have been successful at protecting these values identified by local Jefferson County officials and cooperating agency representatives, by keeping the fire on Forest Service land west of the Hay Canyon Road and north of Little Whitetail Creek. |
Weather Concerns | Thunderstorms and showers this afternoon will bring 80 to 100 percent chance for erratic outflow winds gusting over 40 mph with only a 40 percent chance for winds gusting over 50 mph. Overnight, the storms will bring a 60 to 80 percent chance of a wetting rain to zones 109 and 110. Wednesday onward, another warm, dry ridge build over the area for the long term. |
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