EB and Glacier fire?

We were fortunate enough to have visited Whitefish (arriving on Amtk from PDX) and Glacier National Park last summer, then renting a car and driving the GTTS road and U.S. 2 back to Whitefish, including a stop at Essex.

It is just an exceptionally beautiful area and I am dismayed and extremely saddened by reading this thread and other reports on these fires. Unfortunately Mother Nature has to do what she has to do.

My heartfelt sympathies and prayers are with MontanaMike and neighbors in NW Montana and especially to the courageous men and women who are out there on the front lines of these fires. May they return home safely.

So glad you enjoyed our area. I guess the important thing to take away is that hopefully all residents and firefighters will remain safe during this crisis. The trees will eventually (50 years) grow back.

Absolutely pouring in E Glacier right now. Am praying some of this is making it's way to Essex!

Prayers for all those affected by the fires and the fire fighters risking their lives to battle the fires.

The showers were most welcome tonight, but sadly very spotty and brief. The Flathead Valley got almost no rain (we live close to Whitefish and had perhaps 30 minutes of light, but steady showers-enough to wet the ground. The airport received 3 hundredths of and inch of rain). But hopefully the mountains in and around GNP received at least measurable amounts! No relief for places to our west though, still very dry there. Every drop counts. Now we can look forward to frost Sunday morning followed by more 90 degree heat much of the week next week--crazy weather to be sure.

Note: BNSF is letting some of their trains (no oil trains btw) thru the route that goes thru Marias Pass this evening, BUT they may close it again on a moment's notice. As of this evening I do not believe any Builders were going to be allowed thru and parts of US 2 are still closed. Three fires are within a couple miles or so of their tracks now and while no fire has engulfed any tracks yet they are so close caution is the word. With light NE winds the next 24 hours this should slow any northward progress of the fires towards the tracks and give firefighters a chance to build some lines of containment. We shift back to critical fire danger again likely Monday thru the rest of next week, so no rest for the weary.

Thanks for the updates. Many of us are watching this topic closely. I spent 32 years as a career Firefighter...I know the devastation it can cause. Stay safe and good luck! Keep those updates coming if you can!

Saturday AM Update: The rain last night did help slow the fires down. Yea! US 2 is open this morning with a pilot car guiding people thru the effected areas-no stopping is allowed. BNSF has given the go ahead for Amtrak to run the Builders thru Marias Pass for now, with the caveat that this could change with little notice. BNSF has done a lot of prep work on the trestle and snow sheds (wrapping, sprinklers, water tanks, et. al.) to mitigate any fire that comes thru. With temps scheduled to go back into the 90 degree range by Monday and a mostly dry southwest wind flow beginning Sunday and continuing all week, critical fire danger elements will be back in play shortly. The USFS still expects there is a good chance that at least one of the two of the fires just south of US 2 may reach and cross the highway at some point this week given the forecast.

Personal Note: This is the first day we have seen "blue" sky in perhaps 5 days. A wonderful sight to see.

Glad to hear about the break Mike! Hope it continues for ya'll!

Maybe Montana should consider changing it's Motto from "The Big Sky Country" to "The Smokey Sky Country!".

jimhudson said:

Glad to hear about the break Mike! Hope it continues for ya'll!

Maybe Montana should consider changing it's Motto from "The Big Sky Country" to "The Smokey Sky Country!".

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LOL

While wildfires are a way of life in the Rockies this summer has been one for the record books. The media has been interviewing people who have been here all of their lives, going back to the 1920's and no one can recall a summer that had so many record high temperatures, coupled with almost no rain and now the record number of fires. I guess we hit the trifecta this summer!!

I've got a trip scheduled on the EB from Wisconsin to Whitefish in the middle of October. Any thoughts on whether this will still be an issue?

Hey now we already have the "Smokies" here in NC & TN.

crosshair428 said:

I've got a trip scheduled on the EB from Wisconsin to Whitefish in the middle of October. Any thoughts on whether this will still be an issue?

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It's Mother Nature. No one can accurately predict Mother Nature that far in advance.

crosshair428 said:

I've got a trip scheduled on the EB from Wisconsin to Whitefish in the middle of October. Any thoughts on whether this will still be an issue?

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Normally October is one of the best times to travel thru our area. On one hand we would hope that the wildfire situation would have largely settled down by then, but on the other hand with the forecasted "El Nino" this Fall and winter, that usually means dry and mild conditions for our area, which could mean the fires still continuing. I would just watch the news closely and hope that we at least get some rainfall between now and then. If someone had told me we would get less than 1/2 inch of rain over the entire summer I would have said they were crazy, but that appears to be the case and why we are in such a predicament now.

8/28 picked up at E Glacier no problems this morning. Sad to be leaving the area , and we hope the situation improves quickly!

stageman12 said:

8/28 picked up at E Glacier no problems this morning. Sad to be leaving the area , and we hope the situation improves quickly!

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How was your stay?

Rail Freak said:

How was your stay?

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It was great! Fri was very smoky, but after the rain/snow came through, Sat was extremely clear. Can't wait to come back for longer! Currently sitting on 8/28 waiting on freight traffic. Running 90 min late right now.

We had about a 24 hour reprieve from the smoke here in the Flathead valley. The smoke started coming back in last night and most of the day smelled of smoke, but not yet as bad as last week. Some BNSF trains are being run thru Marias Pass and the EBs are being allowed thru as well.

9 PM Update: The Sheep fire is now within 1/4 mile of the BNSF tracks just outside Essex. It apparently grew by several hundred acres today and more active growth is expected tomorrow. With several days of hot dry weather forecast along with increasing SW winds things do not look good.

If the fire is within 1/4 mile of the tracks at Essex, it has to literally be that close to the Inn .. I can only assume it is closed, I worry more that is safe

If the fire is creeping down hill in low brush it is likely the railroad tracks will be a fire break. My guess is the Inn is being used as a crew base and conmmand post for Forest Service/BNSF firefighting efforts.

Have often wondered why buildings in fire prone areas do not have a rood sprinkler system. Water in the roof could suppress embers but not a full blown fire. Of course a standby power source for water pump would be needed since fire might destroy power lines..

Izaak, you are in my thoughts, prayers, wishes and whatever else might be of some assistance.

Montana Mike: Thanks for keeping us updated. :hi: You too are in my thoughts, prayers, wishes and whatever else may be of some assistance. Stay safe from the trifecta!

Monday PM Update: BNSF has used a special train to bring in more firefighters and equipment to the Essex area. It is clear both the railroad and the Forest Service people are going all out to try to protect assets in that area. Several large containment lines are being constructed immediately to the South of Essex and a lot of fire retardant has been laid down in front of the approaching Sheep Fire. It's really up to the weather now. The forecast for this entire week is warm and dry with increasing southwesterly winds. Just what we didn't need. But there are now hundreds of firefighters in Essex area to make a stand. Let's hope their efforts are successful.

Meanwhile just a few miles down the road the Granite Fire is within a few miles of US 2 (and thus the BNSF tracks). There as well the BNSF and Forest Service crew are constructing substantial fire lines and may even consider back burning if the winds are favorable.

The air quality in the Valley is now in the very unhealthy range. We are literally surrounded by dozens and dozens of small and large fires over all of NW Montana. Like being inside our Weber grill all of the time, so outside activities are limited now. Bummer.

Thanks again Mike for the update. Sounds like it is all hands on deck to save the Walton. Is there any danger for the Belton on the west?

andersone said:

Thanks again Mike for the update. Sounds like it is all hands on deck to save the Walton. Is there any danger for the Belton on the west?

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No danger for Belton-yet. The fire threatening Essex is to the East of West Glacier by enough miles that the likelihood of this fire spreading West is very small. If there are no more new fire starts, the West Glacier area should be OK, but that is a big if, since everything is so dry and all it will take is one lightning strike or a careless cigarette to start another fire anywhere now. The Glacier Rim fire, which was less than 10 miles from West Glacier happened early enough in the season that the firefighters were able to contain that fire at around 300 acres. Thursday and Friday are likely to be very challenging days, as the winds are forecasted to increase.

Thanks those places are dear to my heart