HELENA — Fire officials reported little growth from the Horse Gulch Fire and new containment Tuesday morning.
The Horse Gulch Fire acres burned was 13,299 acres as of the morning of Tuesday, July 16. Fire officials told MTN that much of the new acres burned was controlled burning by fire crews to better establish lines and pockets in the perimeter of the fire that had not yet burned. The total number of acres burned has increased by around 500 acres since the Monday update.
Containment was reported at 10%, it had been at 0% as of Monday morning.
“Yesterday, Horse Gulch fire operations determined the control line would reasonably hold the fire from Cave Gulch Road on the southern edge west along Jimtown Road and north to Kingsberry Gulch. Due to the hard work of crews, equipment operators, and aircraft pilots, that portion of the fire perimeter is contained,” wrote fire officials in a press release Tuesday.
Work by crews on Tuesday will include improving fire lines on the northern perimeter as weather allows, with the primary focus on the north side of the fire where crews are seeing the most fire activity. Crews continue to reinforce fire lines at the top of Magpie Gulch.
The Structure Group will continue to monitor and check structures throughout the fire area.
Evacuations changed from mandatory to evacuation warning on Monday. The area remains closed to the public and proof of residency is required to travel in the affected areas.
WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR
Today, winds will calm ahead of possible thunderstorms in the area bringing a slight chance of rain with a very small potential for any impact on fire activity. Temperatures are forecasted to be in the 90s-100, continuing to dry fuels on all aspects leading to fuels being resistant to control efforts.
EVACUATIONS AND CLOSURES
Evacuations (UPDATED): Effective 7/15/24, all evacuation orders transitioned to evacuation warnings, allowing residents of homes and RVs back into their properties. Under evacuation warning, residents should be prepared to leave if conditions change. Sheriff - Lewis & Clark County (lccountymt.gov)
The Red Cross Shelter in Helena has closed.
Road Closure: Canyon Ferry Road remains closed to the public from Canyon Ferry Village to the Broadwater County line.
Forest Closure: The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest updated their forest closure. It can be found at Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest - Home (usda.gov)
BLM Closure: The Butte Field Office has issued a closure on BLM lands near the fire area. https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/mthlf-horse-gulch-fire/signed-blm-area-closure-07-14-2024
