17 Homes Evacuated, 30 on Standby as Napoleon Fire Explodes

Fires in northwest Montana are leading to evacuation orders in Essex near Glacier National Park, and along the Bull River Highway north of Noxon. John Head is the fire information officer on the Napoleon fire, and says multiple homes are threatened.

"We had these series of fires started from a lightning storm late last week," Head said. "Up on the pretty heavily timbered north slopes above the Bull River, probably had about half a dozen starts up there that started getting pretty big right away. Given where they are located and the fire behavior we've seen private lands and homes down below, our decision was to focus on a defensive zone right along that area."

Head says that containment isn’t even a question right now as firefighters play defense on the fire, which is now over 2,500 acres and swiftly spreading. Evacuation notices began on Wednesday, August 19 with more standby evacuation orders delivered Thursday, August 20.

"Well, the evacuation zone is from mile marker 14 down to mile marker 8 on the south end of Bull River Highway, and within that zone I think there were 17 residents in there," Head said. "Those people were all evacuated with the help of the Sheriff's Department. We could see this fire grouped in with a larger complex of fires when we transition to a type II team later tonight."

Another 30 homes were on standby for evacuation around noon today, August 20. Head says that great efforts from volunteers, the Sheriff’s department, and the Red Cross have helped firefighters do far more than one might expect with the limited number of resources.