Mont. Fires Prompt More Evacuations

HAMILTON, Mont. (AP) â€” Choking wildfire smoke in southwestern Montana prompted more evacuations as the governor prepared to declare the state a disaster area. <br><br>The latest evacuations were in an

Wednesday, August 16th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HAMILTON, Mont. (AP) â€” Choking wildfire smoke in southwestern Montana prompted more evacuations as the governor prepared to declare the state a disaster area.

The latest evacuations were in an area south of where other Bitterroot Valley residents have been allowed to return home. The order to leave came as an 111,000-acre swarm of fires accelerated near the Idaho line.

The smoke was so thick in some valleys Tuesday afternoon that motorists turned on lights near Butte. Health officials said the smoke trapped in the Bitterroot and Missoula valleys made air quality ``very unhealthy.''

The State Emergency Coordination Center said Gov. Marc Racicot planned to issue an executive order Wednesday declaring Montana a disaster area. More than 2,000 blazes have burned 457,000 acres statewide.

``This primarily is for use of the National Guard anywhere in the state in anticipation of conditions deteriorating,'' a center spokesman said. Previous orders by Racicot allowed use of guard units in specified areas, not statewide.

The latest evacuations were in a large area some 50 miles south of Hamilton, almost in Idaho, and covered about 100 homes, said Jim Chinn of the Ravalli County Sheriff's Department.

While residents of some 900 houses have been allowed to return home, hundreds of others remained out of their homes for a second week as fires burned on.

The National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho said the 25 largest fires burning in Montana represented almost half the 964,721 acres burning across the West, in what has been described as the nation's worst wildfire season in a half century.

In Idaho, helicopters continued pounding the southern bank of the main Salmon River with water Tuesday as officials decided the danger was too great to keep open the popular rafting river and the 2.4 million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.

Water drops and sparse fuel on the river's southern bank have kept one major wildfire from jumping north into the wilderness. But Forest Service supervisors said other fires were burning unchecked over 182,000 acres in the protected area.

The closure will take effect Thursday morning at 12:01 a.m., affecting 2,000 miles of trails, all backcountry air strips and 80 miles of the river from Cache Bar to Carey Creek. It will likely remain in effect until fall.

In the past six weeks, fires have blackened over 550,000 acres of Idaho forest and range, costing more than $40 million to battle and uncalculated millions in resource and property losses.

Idaho also announced its state colleges would extend enrollment deadline to mid- to late-September so students fighting fires can remain on the lines. Montana took similar action last week.

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne said he didn't know how many Idaho students would be affected, but estimated as many as 9,000 of the 20,000 people on fire lines in the West are college students.

The depth of the fire season showed in Yellowstone National Park, where park managers said they will not fight a 90-acre blaze deep in the park backcountry because of a lack of firefighters. Six additional lightning-caused fires on Tuesday were getting scant attention because they didn't threaten lives or facilities, officials said.

In Montana, former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona canceled a campaign bus tour that he planned next week on behalf of fellow Republicans running for Congress and governor, citing the state's fires.

â€”â€”â€”

On the Net:

National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov

Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/news.shtml