Fire Near Sixteen

On Monday, July 31st, mid afternoon, yet another fire was called into the Meagher County Dispatch Office. The urgent call came in at 4:20 p.m.Quickly, around fifteen of Meagher County’s first responders, many volunteers, made their way nearly 30 miles out of White Sulphur Springs to the burning scene. The cause of the moderate fire is still unknown. Luckily, the flames only burned near an acre and a half of the location. Despite the relatively small scale of the blazes, smoke and black char from where the flames had burned the grass and plants around the area could be seen from miles away. The fire burned on a side-hill on an open plain without any timber in the immediate surrounding area. The private land is owned by the Richtmeyer Family and is managed by the Boyd Iverson Ranch. No equipment, animals, or humans were harmed during the fire or its containment. Meagher County Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jake Kusek stated, “We got lucky, the fire burned straight into a cliff.” This allowed the firefighters time to arrive on the far removed scene and have somewhat of a barrier to help contain the fire and drive it away from its main fuel: dry plants. In other words, the rocks that the fire burned toward made for a helpful makeshift fire line. The small fire was well contained by 5:30 pm and all first responders left the scene by 7:00 pm. The fires in Montana and in Canada continue to bring smoke into the Meagher region while summer continues to bring in hot and confusing weather. The Colt Fire in near Seeley Lake has grown to over 6500 acres and is still burning in the area’s dense timber. Similarly, the Bowles Creek fire has also been able to consume nearly 1800 acres, but, thankfully, the large fire has now reached a level of 3% containment. As fire danger grows, it is now more important than ever to follow regulations pertaining to burning and appreciate first responders that help to contain fires before they grow quickly and cause large-scale damage in the area. Photos provided by Jake Kusek.