Smucker Fire on Mount Maurice Declared Completely Out This Afternoon

By Denise Rivette, Photos courtesy of USDA Forest Service

The Beartooth Ranger District of the Custer Gallatin National Forest announced today that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Indian Affairs Firefighters were able to completely extinguish the Smucker Fire with the help of a Crow Agency Helicopter. Standing by to assist if needed were the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office and area fire crews. The fire burned one-tenth of an acre on the ridgetop of Mount Maurice.

The fire was first reported 13 days ago by a woman in Belfry who saw a lightning strike followed by a small spire of smoke. It rained shortly thereafter. Two flights over the area with infrared equipment did not register heat from the remaining embers which continued burning through the duff (compacted dead plant materials such as leaves, bark, needles, and twigs) on the ground without producing noticeable smoke. A USFS trail crew noticed wisps of smoke in the area yesterday and alerted Beartooth District headquarters. The red flag conditions (hot, dry and windy) on Monday resulted in kindling the embers into a fire.

Luke Fosness, Fire Management Officer for the Beartooth Ranger District, praised the woman for calling in her sighting even though she was hesitant to do so because the smoke dissipated quickly. “Because she did the right thing and called it in, we were keeping an eye on the area and had two infrared flights fly the entire forest. It wasn’t until yesterday when a trail crew was in the area that the fire was discovered. It’s important for the public to know that reporting sightings like this is important, this stuff matters.”

By keeping an eye on the area of a known lightning strike, the fire was discovered quickly enough yesterday that the fire was contained by 8:00 yesterday evening, fully controlled at 9:30 this morning and declared completely out at 12:40 this afternoon after burning only one-tenth of an acre.

The Smucker Fire contributed very little smoke in the area. More information on the smoke in the area can be found HERE.