Firefighters across the Kootenai National Forest continue to make progress on wildfires burning thousands of acres.
Isabella and Lost Girl Fires
Isabella Fire: 671 acres; 0% containment. Lost Girl Fire: 88 acres; 0% containment.
Location: Cabinet Ranger District, East Fork of Bull River Drainage, near Cabinet Mountain Wilderness.
Both lightning-caused fires are burning in steep, heavily forested terrain with little to no road access. Recent fire behavior included single-tree torching, flanking, and backing. Crews and heavy equipment are preparing roads and trails as potential containment lines.
Smoke is visible along the Highway 56 corridor. While there are no immediate threats to private infrastructure, a closure order is in effect for NFS Road #407 and Trails #407A, #933, and #646.
Ransome Fire
Size: 694 acres; 29% containment.
Location: Quartz Creek drainage, 11 miles northwest of Libby.
The fire did not grow Tuesday as crews held lines and mopped up remaining hot spots. A local Type 3 Incident Management Team remains in command. The incident command post is at Jneils Park in Libby, which remains open to the public.
