EB and Glacier fire?

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pianocat

pianocat

Lead Service Attendant
Joined
Jul 20, 2013
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426
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Newburgh, IN
My source for national news right now is less than great since I'm traveling, bit I caught something briefly this morning about a very large wildfire in Glacier. Unclear to me at the moment if it's near the rail lines. Anyone with updated news re possible affect to EB would be much appreciated.
 
It is well away from the track, but went from 2 acres to over 4000 acres in a day!
 
If I recall the Great Northern runs along the southern border of the Park and if the fire is inside the Park, you should be alright. Of course that is just one more problem being thrown the Builder's way.
 
The fire is more than 20 miles north of the BNSF main line. Centered around St. Mary's area and moving east and north. Not a lot of danger to the tracks now, BUT, winds are always fickle around here and just a few hours of NE winds could turn the fire southward into very heavily wooded terrain, which is bone dry (no decent rainfall in over 3 months now).

We are forecasted to have cooler weather with a slight chance of a few light showers this weekend, but also those NE winds. So everyone will be watching carefully.

As of today the East Glacier Train Station is open, but just a few miles to the north just about all of the Park's access is closed to tourists as there are now hundreds of firefighters on the scene. With almost half of the Going to the Sun Road closed now this is really making a mess of enjoying the Park.
 
It's a pity that it sometimes takes days for them to post a perimeter on the fires, but you should soon be able to see it mapped out here: http://www.geomac.gov/viewer/viewer.shtml.

Use the "Jump to Wildfire" drop-down in the upper right, and scroll down to select "Reynolds." Once they put a perimeter on the fire, they update it regularly, sometimes several times a day. You can select other fires, to see what the perimeter mapping looks like.

Ah! Found much more detailed info on Inciweb. Still no map, but there are good details and they will update this whenever there are any changes. They'll post a good map of the fire here as soon as it's available.

Just FYI, I live in a fire-adapted ecosystem. We have fires in the area every summer, and when I used to be an event planner, I used to regularly receive calls asking me if all the roads were closed, and the event cancelled, because of the fires. Only once in the more than twenty years I've been here was a major road into our valley actually closed because of a fire, and that was last year. You can check this out for a little entertainment: http://www.kval.com/news/local/Wildfire-closes-Hwy-26-east-of-Redmond-267218571.html. I was actually glad that my event had ended the year before, so I did not have to answer questions about open roads two weeks later (when the roads were back open and the fire well-contained).
 
21 miles (of a total of 52 miles) of the GTTS Road are closed now as are some of the lodges and several major campgrounds in the Park and dozens and dozens of trails are now off limits to visitors. The Park service's policy is to let these fires burn-as they are a part of the natural process of the forest-while just protecting structures and other infrastructure. A fire like this could easily grow to 50,000 acres or larger if the dry and windy conditions persist. Less than 10 years ago we watched as over 250,000 acres of the Park and adjacent wilderness burned. An amazing sight and it was smoky in the Flathead valley for weeks. We have close friends who have a cabin inside the Park (their family were legacy inholders) and those fires came within 100 yards of their cabin! As I mentioned before, the onset of winter may be the key factor that finally puts this fire out. If the perimeter of the fire goes outside the Park the firefighting teams fight the fire very differently and do everything they can to stop it. While the Park itself is heavily forested, just outside the eastern boundary in the Blackfoot Reservation, it is mostly rolling prairie with almost no trees at all, so that may help them stop this fire as it pushes eastward.
 
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Thanks everybody for the information! I have a much better understanding now of what's going on realizing of course that things can change on a dime. We are headed to Walla Walla tomorrow and there's a fire just east of there so I imagine will see the smoke. OP, appreciate the links! And MM, thanks for educating a midwesterner who didn't understand there are different ways to fight fires, or not as the case may be .
 
pianocat said:
Thanks everybody for the information! I have a much better understanding now of what's going on realizing of course that things can change on a dime. We are headed to Walla Walla tomorrow and there's a fire just east of there so I imagine will see the smoke. OP, appreciate the links! And MM, thanks for educating a midwesterner who didn't understand there are different ways to fight fires, or not as the case may be .
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Oh, you will definitely be able to see the smoke from Walla Walla. Just look on geomac.gov for the Blue Creek fire, perimeters are posted for that one. Looks like it is headed away from town, but it's closer than the Glacier one to where you will be passing. You will get a good feel for how life goes on, as long as the wind is blowing away from you, and you are not on the road with all the fire traffic!
 
Glacier National Park officials shepherded visitors who had planned to visit the popular sights on the closed portions of the park's main Going-to-the-Sun Road to other areas of the park. They encouraged people with upcoming trips not to cancel their plans.

"The rest of the park is spectacular, it's beautiful and there is no impact whatsoever," park spokeswoman Denise Germann said.
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Cold front headed toward Glacier park fire zone
 
While it is indeed true that most of the Park remains unaffected by the fire, the fact that the GTTS Road is closed from Logan Pass to the east entrance is a big negative, since this road is the primary way people move from one side of the Park to another. Yes, you can drive on US 2 around the southern perimeter to get to the West side of the Park, but it is not the same experience. Anyone who has been to Logan Pass will agree!

Another day of fairly strong westerly winds and just a few isolated showers. Nothing to help the fire fighters. The "cool" front will drop temps--always a plus--but not much rain is forecasted for our area (Trace amounts in the Valley and less than 1/4" in the adjacent mountains). The one mitigating factor which should keep the spread of this fire down, is that the primary growth direction of the fire is east, which takes it eventually away from the heavily forested lands and onto the rolling grasslands, which should be somewhat easier to fight, IF the wind doesn't stay strong. At 10% contained as of midday today that's progress.

After a few cooler days, the latter part of next week and the weekend are forecasted to be around 90 degrees in the Valley and around 80 in the Mountains with more windy, dry conditions. August is typically the month our fire season starts, since it is usually sunny, very warm and mostly dry. One positive note about our drought in NW Montana, we haven't had very many fires started due to lightening strikes. Just NO T-storms almost the entire summer.
 
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The latest on the Reynolds Fire in GNP: 67% contained, BUT the GTTS Road is still closed from Logan Pass all the way to St. Mary's at the East entrance. It is so dry here in NW MT that only the hoped for late Fall rains and snows are going to finally put out any fires that have started this summer. Related to this, our stream flows on many of our major tributaries in NW MT are the lowest ever recorded. We have lived in MT for 13 years and have been coming here for double that time and have never seen anything quite like this. The combination of very hot temperatures (three records over 100 and two others at 99) and bone dry weather has been a deadly combination. The smoke has been very dense at times, making any views of the Park difficult for many travelers on the train. The good news is most of the rest of the state has had a "normal" summer and much lower fire danger.
 
montana mike said:
The latest on the Reynolds Fire in GNP: 67% contained, BUT the GTTS Road is still closed from Logan Pass all the way to St. Mary's at the East entrance. It is so dry here in NW MT that only the hoped for late Fall rains and snows are going to finally put out any fires that have started this summer.
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Mike, are you suggesting that the GTTS may not reopen this summer at all? I was planning to take a friend to the park in September, but maybe we should postpone until next season.
 
CHamilton said:
montana mike said:
The latest on the Reynolds Fire in GNP: 67% contained, BUT the GTTS Road is still closed from Logan Pass all the way to St. Mary's at the East entrance. It is so dry here in NW MT that only the hoped for late Fall rains and snows are going to finally put out any fires that have started this summer.
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Mike, are you suggesting that the GTTS may not reopen this summer at all? I was planning to take a friend to the park in September, but maybe we should postpone until next season.
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The local Park people would love to re-open the GTTS road, BUT until that fire is put out it is too close to parts of the road (plus there are still almost 400 firefighters and dozens of pieces of equipment using the road to move equipment and people in and out of the fire zone. We need a couple days of soaking rains-which are not in the forecast-in order for the fire to be called out. Right now, while the fire has not expanded much since last week, it continues to burn all of the available timber that was not consumed in the initial runs (likely several thousand more acres). IF no other fires are started in the area (this one was most likely "man-caused" btw), the firefighters may be able to get the fire under sufficient control to allow the Park to re-open the road at some point. I would hope this would be the case. If I hear anything from the local Park folks about a reopen date I will post it. We are planning a trip to Waterton in Sept and normally would use the GTTS Road as the quickest and shortest route, but I may have to detour around the Park on US 2. The Western half of the Park plus the Two Medicine area is mostly unaffected by the fire and one can now access Logan Pass, just not anything to the East of that point.
 
The good part (if there is one) of the drive on 2 is a stop for dinner at Isaac Walton Inn - great food and gratuitous train spotting.
 
I agree. We usually find an excuse to stop by Izaak Walton for their Huckleberry Cobbler and to watch the many BNSF freights go by at very close proximity and perhaps an Empire Builder too!
 
I found the Walton to be one of the most enjoyable meals in all of my travels. Have always wondered what it would be like to stay there,,,, alas it is only 1,940 miles from here,,,,
 
andersone said:
The good part (if there is one) of the drive on 2 is a stop for dinner at Isaac Walton Inn - great food and gratuitous train spotting.
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Buffalo burgers, mmmm

One of the world's best dining spots for train watching.

The Inn has been under new management since the last time we visited - higher prices now. No elevators in the main lodge btw.
 
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andersone said:
I found the Walton to be one of the most enjoyable meals in all of my travels. Have always wondered what it would be like to stay there,,,, alas it is only 1,940 miles from here,,,,
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We have stayed at the Inn several times-both winter and summer. As you know it's a railroad buffs haven and the rooms, while refurbished to modern standards, reflect what it was like when the GN crews stayed there many years ago. If you really want to splurge you can stay in a completely outfitted BNSF locomotive close to the main Inn. It's actually very, very nice inside. And of course they have a number of cabooses across the tracks for the adventurous folks who wish to relive the days when there was a caboose on every freight train!

Basically, they have accommodations to suit just about any fancy.

As mentioned separately there is no elevator, but the main floor is handicapped accessible from the parking lot.
 
Update on the Reynolds Fire in Glacier National park:

1. The GTTS road was re-opened on a limited basis (9 AM to 7 PM daily) on the east side. But it is still subject to periodic closures due to fire fighting equipment and fire activity.

2. The fire itself is unfortunately growing again. About a 10% increase in the size today. The forecast for most of next week is not helpful--very warm, windy with perhaps a few dry and perhaps slightly damp T-storms (less than 1/4 inch total rainfall forecast for the Park for the next two weeks at best).

3. Many trails on the east side remain closed, but the boat trips out of St. Mary will be operating again.

For people planning to travel to GNP this summer/fall be prepared to see quite a different aspect of Nature's natural processes in full view. The fire has blackened and burned a huge area along and across the GTTS road on the east side and it looks very stark and sad, but still most interesting.
 
Glacier Fires Update as of 8-10:

1. Reynolds Creek Fire is still only 67% contained, but as stated earlier the GTTS road is open now--Day use only.

2. A new fire erupted Sunday-Thompson Creek Fire, now grown to over 500 acres and no control. This is 8 miles north of US 2 at the South end of the Park. The Empire Builders should not be interrupted due to this fire, but some hiking activities in the Park will likely be suspended in the area of this new fire, which could grow rapidly given the conditions.

The weather forecast for the week is very hot and continued mostly dry. Just a few T-storms, with little or no rain. This summer of heat and miserable drought continues in NW Montana.
 
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