Granite County Fire Update: September 7, 2022

GRANITE COUNTY – Updates on fires being battled in and around Granite County.

Murray Fire Overview

InciWeb Link - https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8389/#

Firefighters worked with local landowners to establish and improve access for crews and heavy equipment to the fire. Aviation resources worked in conjunction with smokejumpers and a hotshot crew to establish control lines where safe and effective to do so. The fire is estimated to be 55 acres and is currently 0% contained. Coordinating agencies on the fire include Montana DNRC, USFS, and BLM.

Solomon Fire Overview

InciWeb Link - https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8370/

The Solomon Fire was reported on Aug 24, 2022, and is burning southeast of Missoula, MT in the Welcome Creek Wilderness on the Missoula Ranger District. It is located approximately 6 miles south of Interstate 90/Rock Creek Exit #126, near Solomon Mountain in upper Solomon Creek, approximately 2 miles southwest of the Spring Creek Trailhead (Rock Creek recreation corridor).

The fire is burning in a steep, thickly timbered bowl with snags, or hazard trees, making up about half of the standing fuel and is surrounded to the south, east, and west by the 2007 Sawmill Fire burned area.

The terrain, fuel type, and the presence of snag trees, limit the ability to place firefighters directly on the fire. Firefighter safety is a top priority when assessing engagement on this fire.

The Solomon Fire is being managed under a point protection strategy which means that highly valued resources (such as buildings, infrastructure, or recreational assets) are being strategically protected from the fire, utilizing various natural and geographic features (past wildfires, trails, rock, and cliff bands) while protecting other values consistent with the Welcome Creek Wilderness. Air support, such as helicopters, may be used to slow and limit potential fire spread. Firefighters are patrolling and monitoring the fire via air and from vantage points on the ground and utilizing fuel moisture measurements, field weather observations, and fire models to inform the suppression strategy.