POLSON — An interagency team is working to manage the Boulder 2700 fire burning near Polson.
At the Incident Command Post at Salish Kootenai College, the Type 2 Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 4 is joined by CSKT Fire Division, the US Forest Service, and more to make a total of 242 personnel on the fire area.
Public Information Officer Hanna McBrearty said the fire is 36% contained.
“We are at 36% containment, which means that we have containment line around about 36% of the fire's perimeter," McBrearty said.
A total of 31 structures were completely destroyed since the outbreak of the fire. A recent structure assessment revealed 14 primary structures and 17 secondary structures like garages are a loss.
No residence is currently under stage three, or immediate evacuation, measures.
"Some of the residences within the fire area are still under stage two evacuation, and what that means is that they need to be prepared to leave at a moment's notice, if fire activity increases," McBrearty explained.
Officials are closely watching changing conditions - which McBrearty said are getting progressively hotter and drier.
A Forward Operating Base right on the edge of the fire area is on alert so they could respond quickly if something were to happen.
"This evening we'll be looking at a probability of getting an east wind, which was the same kind of wind that initially pushed the fire down towards Highway 35 and Flathead Lake on July 31st." - PIO Hanna McBrearty
Firefighters are working to build more containment around the fire’s perimeter.
“So they are cold trailing through some of these hotter areas and what that means is they are getting down low, getting their hands in the soil actually feeling for heat and then digging those out and extinguishing them," McBrearty said.
The wildfire is still very much active with ground and air crews working to further suppression.
As the fire activity decreases resources will be shifting to address other fires in the country, a shift in management to incident type three organization may begin as soon as Sunday.
Highway 35 has reopened through the burned area to local traffic only with a pilot car taking people through the area
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