New Human-caused Wildfire is Burning NW of Missoula

There is a new wildfire burning about 7 miles northwest of Missoula and it's called the Butler Creek Fire. The fire is human-caused and crews are actively working to contain it in it's early stages.

As of Wednesday morning, the Butler Creek Fire was 307 acres in size and was 70% contained. No further details about the cause have been released yet other than it was human-caused. There are weather alerts for the area, listed below.

Traffic is urged to slow down in the area and be aware of emergency vehicles working on the wildfire. Air quality can fluctuate quickly, due to water suppression and wind behavior. According to Wildfire.gov:

Firefighting efforts began early Monday morning with crews building handline and dozers establishing a line along the fire's north side.

As the day progressed, aviation resources supported with water drops to cool hotspots and reduce fire spread while firefighters focused on constructing direct containment lines along the west flank, with engine crews following to spray water and douse hot spots to prevent flare-ups.

Crews conducted “mop up” operations along the fire perimeter, systematically patrolling along a grid 100 feet into the fire's perimeter, to detect and extinguish any residual heat sources.

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• A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 9 PM WEDNESDAY
• Affected area: Fire Zone 108 (East Lolo).
• Impacts: The combination of low humidity and thunderstorm outflow winds will result in critical fire weather conditions, increasing the risk for new and existing fires to spread quickly.
• Winds: West winds 10 to 15 mph with thunderstorm gusts to 30 mph
• Minimum humidities: 10 to 15 percent