HAMILTON — Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman said structures have been lost to a fast-moving wildfire southwest of Hamilton.
The fire started about one mile up Roaring Lion Road Sunday afternoon.
“It was first noticed probably at about 2 p.m. and by a quarter to 3 it was encroaching on homes,” Hoffman said. “We skipped Stage 1 evacuations and went immediately to Stage 2, which is ‘get out of here.’ ”
Hoffman said the fire apparently started at the near the bottom of the drainage and just took off immediately.
“At this point, we don’t know how it started,” Hoffman said. “Obviously, we have had no lightning. It took off too hard and too fast for anyone to investigate that at this point.”
At 6 p.m., Hoffman said he had received verification of structures on fire in the Judd Creek area.
“We are asking for people to cooperate,” he said. “We can’t let people back up there … this is a big area. If you pull the radar, you’ll see the plume is huge. We’ve got fairly steady high winds up in the canyons and this fire has just launched.”
Hoffman said there have been a couple of ambulance calls, with one for a person needing CPR in the Owens Creek areas.
“My guess is that’s fire-related,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman said the community has had an “incredibly good response” from valley volunteer fire departments and law enforcement from as far away as Missoula.
A portion of Highway 93 south of Hamilton has been closed to traffic.
Hoffman said people living near the fire need to be prepared.
“Evacuation notices are changing by the minute as this fire spreads,” he said.
The Ravalli County Sheriff's Office has put in place Stage 2 evacuations for the west side of Highway 93 from Owings Creek to Hayes Creek. That includes all of Roaring Lion Road, Lupine Ridge Trail, 2 Horse Lane, Highland Drive, North Gold Creek Loop, Owings Creek south to Roaring Lion Road, and Gold Creek Loop to Camas Creek Loop.
Stage 1 notifications were added from Owings Creek to Westside Road west of Wyant Lane. Stage 1 alerts homeowners that there is a high probability that they may need to evacuate.
"It's horrible," said Pamela Caughey, who lives on Roaring Lion Road and had evacuated and was heading toward Highway 93 as of 4 p.m. Sunday. "Our house is probably gone, as well as several others. Firefighters told me they were going to do everything they can."
She said the fire started at about 3 p.m. Sunday. She estimated there are about 50 homes on Roaring Lion Road, "probably more." She said the road is about four miles long.
"When a fire gets going, it's just going to go," Caughey said. "We could see it coming so fast."
“This is the one we didn’t want to happen,” said Bitterroot National Forest public affairs officer Tod McKay. “We’ve got all our resources on it.”
Firefighters are on scene. McKay said a Type 1 incident command team was called in. Two helicopters are headed to the fire. Five air tankers were ordered, and were waiting on a lead plane to arrive from the Pacific Northwest as of 5 p.m. Sunday.
The Red Cross has set up a shelter for evacuees at the First Baptist Church at Lewis and Cooper lanes in Hamilton. Gates are open on the Ravalli County Fairgrounds for livestock. ABC Acres in Hamilton is also accepting livestock displaced from the fire.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality reported at about 5 p.m. Sunday that smoke from the fire was lifting above Hamilton and that air quality was good.
"When a fire gets going, it's just going to go," Caughey said. "We could see it coming so fast."