New fire forces evacuations along Highway 35

Fire managers with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes announced a new fire Saturday morning.

The Boulder 2700 Fire is in the Mission Mountains east of Flathead Lake and 8 miles east of Polson. The fire is believed to be human-caused and is under investigation, according to a CSKT Division of Fire press release. The fire is burning in a steep area with heavy downed fuels.

Evacuations have been ordered for homes below the fire on Highway 35. The Lake County Sheriff’s department and local Rural fire departments are taking care of those evacuations. .

The fire was estimated at 150 acres as of Saturday morning. To reduce the risk to firefighters and the public, the B-2700 road off of Highway 35 is closed.