Sawtooth Fire Update

About 400 homes are affected by the Stage 2 Evacuation west of Hamilton, Montana.

The Sawtooth Fire doubled in size Sunday with strong winds, and started coming down the face of Downing Mountain Monday toward homes west of town about noon Monday.

The Ravalli County Sheriff's officers are notifying residents door-to-door in the area first designated as Stage 1 Sunday. Stage 2 is a request to immediately evacuate.

The area affected is west of West Side Road, from North gold Creek Loop on the south to Blodgett Camp Road on the north.

The American Red Cross has established an evacuation center at the First Baptist Church at 345 Cooper Lane in Hamilton. The phone number is 363-3735.

The Ravalli County Fairgrounds has opened their animal barns to livestock from the evacuation area. The owners will still need to feed and water them, but they have shelter there. The Bitterroot Humane Shelter is working with people to care for small animals.

The Ravalli County Emergency Services office is at 375-6650.

The evacuation area is closed to non-residents and roadblocks are in place with 24-hour patrol by law enforcement.