Single Publication

Type 3 Incident, Incident Commander Justin Abbey, ICT3 Trainee: Chris Kramer   

Location: Bitterroot NF: Railroad Creek/ Skalkaho Creek confluence, 26 miles southeast of Hamilton. Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF: 20 Miles northwest of Georgetown Lake Dam off  Skalkaho Hwy 38 

Start Date: 7/25/2024  

Cause: Undetermined     

Daly Fire Acres: 11,234  Railroad Fire Acres: 1,583 Completion: 56% Total Personnel: 185 

Current Status : Yesterday cooler temperatures over the fire provided minimal fire activity and growth. Firefighters continued holding and monitoring previous burn operations. The shaded fuel break has been completed along the coal creek road. Sawyers progressed along Skalkaho Hwy 38 cutting standing dead trees and used a woodchipper to shred tree limbs and burned ground debris. Last night the east side of the fire received snow levels at 7,000 feet elevation, fire activity in this area remains minimal. The fire did not receive an infrared flight last night so acreage will remain the same as yesterday. 

Today, crews will continue holding and monitoring fires edge on Buckhorn Saddle.  Sawers will continue clean up above Skalkaho Hwy 38. Aerial resources are available to the crews as needed. Fire Management will discuss and develop a suppression repair plan on both the Beaver-Head Deerlodge & Bitterroot National Forests. 

Weather and Fire Behavior : As the cold front remains over the fire, it will bring increased westerly wind of 5-15mph. Rainy conditions will increase relative humidities up to 63-68%. Tonight, will be mostly cloudy and a slight chance of snow in the evening. Thursday will be cooler showing lows in the morning to get into mid 20s and daytime highs to the mid 30s. Clear skies expected Friday. 

 
EVACUATIONS: On October 9, 2024 the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office issued an Evacuation Warning for residents off of Skalkaho Highway (1700-2500 block) due to the Railroad-Daly Fire. For more information on evacuations visit the Ravalli County Sheriff Facebook page.  To register your phone number for emergency notifications in Ravalli County visit, http://hyper-reach.com/mtravallisignup.html. 

CLOSURES : The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest has issued an Area/Road/Trail Closure effective October 4, 2024.  The Bitterroot National Forest has also issued a road closure effective October 10, 2024. These orders are for public and firefighter safety during fire suppression efforts on the Fire.  

Closure information and maps are posted on the Bitterroot and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests’ website www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/bdnf/alerts-notices and www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/bitterroot/alerts-notices.