Fire near Buffalo Bridge spreads to 2,000 acres

A fire grew by leaps and bounds Tuesday, as local fire crews battled to contain it and protect homes in the Buffalo Bridge area, and a Type II fire team from Idaho was brought in to manage it Wednesday.

The Garceau Gulch Fire grew to more than 2,000 acres Tuesday, but Tribal and local volunteer fire crews were able to prevent any structures from burning, although two homes were evacuated. As of Tuesday night, more than 60 Tribal firefighters, and Ronan and Polson volunteer firefighters, stayed at the scene, but Confederated Salish and Kootenai fire managers will turn management of the fire over to a Type II crew this week.

"We saw extreme fire weather this afternoon, and we did lose some line. We have structure protection in place right now, and another 20 homes were put on evacuation alert, but we hope wind conditions won't be as bad later in the week," Tribal public information officer Rich Janssen said Tuesday night.

With the Type II team, more than 350 more firefighters and several helicopters will also be brought in to help contain the fire, Janssen said. The cause of the fire is unknown, but extremely dry weather and high heat have led to some very dangerous conditions, and currently all Tribal land, trust land and fee lands are under Stage II restrictions.

Stage II restrictions mean no building or maintaining of fires is allowed, and smoking is only permitted in vehicles or enclosed buildings. Also, no internal combustion engines can be operated from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m., and operating motorized vehicles off-road is also prohibited.

Tuesday's fire drew Tribal, Ronan, Polson, Chief Cliff and Finley Point crews from around the north valley all day, as the fire grew swiftly in just a few hours, covering the north valley in smoke. It came on the heels of a 170-acre fire outside of Lake Mary Ronan that was contained this weekend, and was believed to be a "holdover" from a lightning strike during last week's storm.