PARADISE — Outside of Paradise, crews continued to battle the Knowles Fire — which has burned about 1,000 acres since it started up Sunday.
The fire burning about six miles outside of Paradise, on the north side of the Flathead River and Highway 200. Monday night, the Northern Rockies Incident Command Team 9 took command of the fire.
“Right now, with the latest IR flight that happened this morning, we're sitting right around 1,000 acres for the Knowles Fire. With the expected weather forecast of hot and dry and windy, we can anticipate that to grow,” Deputy Incident Commander Michael Kaiser said.
The fire is burning in steep and rocky terrain, making it difficult to access. It is one of four fires that started up along the highway between Perma and Paradise on Sunday afternoon. The cause of the fires is still under investigation.
“It started in some light, flashy fuels, moved up the slope into some timber, mostly ponderosa pine,” Kaiser said. “Now, it's starting to get into the head end of some drainages, so a little bit more timber. That obviously makes it a little bit more difficult to get around it.”
Due to the fire’s inaccessibility, search and rescue boats have been shuttling many of the firefighters across the Flathead River. Others are taking up roads high up into the fire area. Crews on the ground are also getting support from the air.
“Out here, the terrain is making it challenging to go direct. When there are those opportunities to go direct, we are taking aggressive action in those spots,” Kaiser said. “As the fire moves up higher, it's actually moving into a place where previous fires have burned and that will allow us to have more opportunities to be successful at stopping the forward progression of this fire.”
Responders are using Highway 200 as a main corridor to travel. They are asking the public to use caution in the area and watch out for slow moving fire traffic.
“Pretty much our only access to where the fire is at right now is across the river. It is at a boat launch which is right next to the highway, so there's a lot of vehicles that are moving slowly and pulling in and out,” Kaiser said. “If folks are traveling along Highway 200, definitely keep your eyes open when you get to this area.”
