UPDATE: July 11 at 12:50 p.m.
The Horse Gulch Fire has increased to approximately 2,000 acres and remains zero-percent contained as of Thursday morning.
A release from Northern Rockies Incident Management said a human caused the fire.
A large portion of the growth happened in the south to east Wednesday afternoon and into early Thursday morning.Â
Firefighters spent the night to build and reinforce fire line along the south end of the fire to protect private land.
Crews will be working to minimize fire spread onto private land to the south and west Thursday.
Crews with heavy equipment and multiple types of aircraft will work to secure previously built fire line on the southern portion of the fire, north of Canyon Ferry.
On the western side of the fire, crews will build and reinforce control lines near Jim Town Road and continue north to link the northwestern part of the fire.
Weather conditions are forecasted in the 90s with possible erratic wind gusts and slight chance of thunderstorms in the late afternoon.
Current evacuations:
• Canyon Ferry Road – from JimTown Road to the Broadwater County line;
• All roads north and south of Canyon Ferry Road between JimTown Road to the Broadwater County line
Canyon Ferry Rd is closed at Canyon Ferry Village to the Broadwater County line.
Current closures:
The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest issued a road, trail, and area closure.
• In general, the closures are southeast of the York Gulch Road/Forest Service System Road 4136, to northwest up to and including the Avalanche Creek Road/Forest Service System Road 359, bound on the north by Magpie Mountain ridge line and bound on the south by the National Forest System lands boundary.
Continuing with the latest information on the Horse Gulch Fire, we have the Lewis & Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton on the line.
UPDATE: July 11 at 9:59 a.m.
Lewis and Clark Sheriff Leo Dutton says that several roads have been blocked off due to the Horse Gulch Fire. Closures include:
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Jim Town and Canyon Ferry
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Canyon at Broadwater Line
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Canyon Ferry and Cave Gulch
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Canyon Ferry and Water Dance
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Magpie and Canyon Ferry
UPDATE: July 11 at 6:53 a.m.
The Horse Gulch Fire has grown to about 1000 acres and remains 0% contained as of Thursday morning.
Lewis and Clark Sheriff Leo Dutton told NonStop Local incident command is moving to Type 3, and the danger with moving from Type 1 incident command to Type 2 or 3 miscommunication or missed opportunities–Dutton said they will be watching for that.
Dutton said LCSO has evacuated the Cave Gulch area and some people have stayed.
“The other difficulties is those people are not staying in their house and they’re getting out and driving around, and the people who stayed are not cooperating,” Dutton said. “If you stay, you can do that if you own the house, but you can’t be out moving around because people who left are counting on us to keep your property safe.”
The Cave Gulch area has been given an evacuation notice by the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff.
We have the Helena City Commissioner Andy Shirtliff who helped set up the Red Cross evacuation center on the phone to talk about the ongoing support.
UPDATE: July 10 at 3:58 p.m.
The Cave Gulch area has been given an evacuation notice by the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff.
A pre-evacuation notice was issued for those in the Horse Gulch area at 2:45 p.m.
UPDATE: July 10 at 3:40Â p.m.
Pilot who died fighting the Horse Gulch Fire identified as 45-year-old mother from Brazil
The Horse Gulch Fire is now burning an estimated 600 acres as of Wednesday at 3:00 PM, and the fire is still 0% contained.
At around 12:15 PM, a wildland firefighting plane crashed on the scene of the fire. The plane was piloted by one person working on controlling the fire. The pilot’s condition is not yet known.Â
UPDATE: July 10 at 8:54 a.m.
The Horse Gulch Fire is now burning an estimated 200 acres as of Wednesday morning.
A Type 3 incident commander will be taking charge of the fire Tuesday morning.
The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest said on social media the fire is anticipated to be very active due to expected hot, dry and windy conditions.
Numerous crews, engines and aerial equipment are trying to contain the fire.
Officials with Montana DNRC, Tri-Lakes Volunteer Fire Department and York Volunteer Fire Department, Lewis & Clark County Sheriff’s Office will advise if evacuations are needed.
People are asked to avoid the Cave Gulch and Jim Town areas at this time.
HELENA, Mont. – A wildfire is burning in the Horse Gulch area, south of York Wednesday.
The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest said the fire grew from 10 acres to 168 acres Tuesday night due to strong winds.
At this time, there are no evacuation orders in place.
The Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office asks people do not call 9-1-1 for information.
Article originally published July 10, 2024 at 8:54 a.m.
