Divide fire grows to 160 acres

By The Standard Staff - 08/02/2008

Click here to watch video of helicopters in their effort against the Pump Station fire. Divide fire grows to 160 acres

Firefighters attacked the northern front of a 160-acre wildfire near Divide Friday, slowing its growth, and bringing the blaze to 35 to 40 percent containment.

Afternoon windy conditions and low humidity, however, had fire officials concerned, according to the Dillon Interagency Dispatch Center.

So far, no reports were received of damage to homes in the area, authorities said.

The fire started about 1:30 p.m. Thursday just north of Montana Highway 43, near the old Divide Pump Station.

The blaze, called the Pump Station Fire, is burning mostly sagebrush, timber and grass in the Charcoal Gulch area on ground managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It’s near the Fleecer Mountain Wildlife Management Area.

Two 20-person Forest Service crews arrived Friday to help 25 local firefighters from the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Butte-Silver Bow County. Two helicopters continue to dump water on hotspots. Six fire engines and three water tenders are supporting the ground crews.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to news releases from the Dillon Interagency Dispatch Center.

However, John VanDaveer, operations manager for NorthWestern Energy’s Butte division, told The Montana Standard Thursday that the fire apparently started while a NorthWestern worker was working at a transfer station near the pump house. An electrical spark from the transfer station may have ignited the dry brush.