*AGAIN, THESE ARE PRE-EVACUATION NOTICES FOR THESE AREAS.

Pre-evacuation notices are being issued for all cabins located between mile marker 17 and Bend Ranger Station on Thompson River.

Road closures will take place on the following roads: Little Thompson River Road at the 3 mile marker. The Thompson River Road will be closed from the end of the pavement above Copper King to mile marker 22 on Thompson River Rd.

Thank you,
Tom Rummel
Sanders County Sheriff

Thank you,
Sanders County Sheriff's Office

Resources Assigned: Resources assigned to the incident now include: Four hotshot crews, three initial attack crews, multiple pieces of heavy equipment, and seven engines. Three helicopters are assigned to the fire and fixed wing air attack is available from Missoula if necessary.

Closures: Forest Road No. 56 on the west side of Thompson River is still open, but please limit travel in the area. Road No. 9991 (ACM Road) on the east side of Thompson River is closed from the junction with Road No. 56 to the 17-mile marker. Road No. 5587 (Spring Creek) is also closed, as are Forest Trail Nos. 345 (Todd Creek), No. 368 (Big Hole Lookout), No. 370 (Spring Creek), No. 372 (Munson Creek), No. 445 (Kookoosint) and No.1268 (Bay State). The Copper King and Clark Memorial campgrounds are closed.

Current Status: Cooler temperatures, light precipitation and high humidity combined to keep the fire from spreading yesterday. Pockets of heavy fuels continued to actively burn throughout the late afternoon. Firefighters continued structure protection by maintaining hose lays and sprinkler systems along the Thompson river and Clark Fork river corridors. In addition, crews continued brush removal along pre-existing road systems and the newly established dozer line to the north and east of the fire. A masticator was used to dispose of vegetation along the eastern edge of the fire.

Planned Actions: Structure protection crews will maintain sprinklers and hose lays to protect private property and structures. Crews will work along the ACM road extinguishing hot spots and clearing fuels to the northeast. Continued low pressure and cool temperatures will aid in firefighting efforts along the fire perimeter today. To the north and east of the fire, firefighters will be removing green fuels from the understory along the indirect fireline. Heavy equipment, including a masticator will be utilized to assist with improving indirect fireline. Aircraft support remains available as needed for suppression and reconnaissance activities.

Weather: The low pressure system that brought the rain and thunderstorms on Tuesday will linger today and tonight, then slowly depart on Thursday. Temperatures will continue to be cool with humidity in the 30 percent range. The coming weekend will be much hotter and drier.

August 9, 2016 - 8:30 A.M.

Important – Drones are prohibited in the fire vicinity & have the potential to shut down all operations.

Start date: July 31, 2016
Location: Eight miles east of Thompson Falls; one mile north of Highway 200.
Cause: Undetermined
Total Personnel: 387 personnel
Current Size: 1,465 Acres
Containment: 5%

Community Camp Tour on Wednesday, August 10th at 7:00 p.m. Open to the public; great for kids as well. Incident Command Post located in Plains just off of Helterline Road. Follow signs from Hwy 200.

Resources Assigned: Resources assigned to the incident now include: 5 hotshot crews, 4 initial attack crews, multiple pieces of heavy equipment, and 12 engines. Five helicopters are assigned to the fire.

Closures: Forest Road No. 56 on the west side of Thompson River is still open, but please limit travel in the area. Road No. 9991 (ACM Road) on the east side of Thompson River is closed from the junction with Road No. 56 to the 17-mile marker. Road No. 5587 (Spring Creek) is also closed, as are Forest Trail Nos. 345 (Todd Creek), No. 368 (Big Hole Lookout), No. 370 (Spring Creek), No. 372 (Munson Creek), No. 445 (Kookoosint) and No.1268 (Bay State). The Copper King and Clark Memorial campgrounds are closed.

Current Status: With the warmer drier weather yesterday, pockets of heavy fuels actively burned throughout the late afternoon. Firefighters worked to reinforce the black along the ACM road extinguishing hot spots. In addition, crews improved the existing, older road systems and completed dozer line to the north and east of the fire. A masticator was brought in to aid in clearing vegetation along the eastern edge of the fire.

Planned Actions: A much cooler day is expected on the fire. Structure protection crews will maintain sprinklers and hose lays to protect private property and structures, while other crews will continue to work along the ACM road extinguishing hot spots and clearing fuels to the northeast. Higher relative humidity and cooler temperatures will aid in making good progress on the fire. To the north and east of the fire, firefighters will be removing green fuels from along the indirect fireline. Heavy equipment as well as the masticator will continue to be utilized to assist with improving indirect fireline. Aircraft support remains available as needed and to provide reconnaissance.

Weather: Light rain is expected on and off throughout the day with lower temperatures in the mid-60’s to low 70’s and higher relative humidity.

August 9, 2016 Fire Perimeter

Copyright © 2016 Eastern MT IMT2, All rights reserved.
Fire information for Copper King Fire

Our mailing address is:
Eastern MT IMT2
5765 West Broadway
Missoula, MT 59808-9361

Sanders County Sheriff's Office