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.