Fireweed blooms near a blackened stump

Purdy Fire Gallatin Gateway, MT Sept-Oct 2001

The Purdy Fire was just one of many forest fires that burned in the American West in 2001.  Its personal significance is that it burned so near to the home we had just purchased 11 miles southwest of Bozeman, MT.   Photos of the fire were taken by Dave Elliott: the vantage point is the log home that the Elliotts moved into just two days before the fire started.  The intense orange glow of the flames is reflected in the massive cloud of smoke of the panorama shot.  The night images were on a ridge about a mile from their house.  The balance of the fire scar photos were taken by Aleen Kienholz in September 2002 as fog and rain rolled into the forest.

In May 2001 the state of Montana was facing its fourth year of drought conditions, and 41 of 56 counties were so low on surface and subsoil moisture that they were classified as being under “severe” drought.  The Montana fire season usually begins in August and stretches into September, but minimal snowmelt and sparse rain had spring fires burning as hot as would normally be expected in August.  Experts contended that the severity of the upcoming fire season would be completely under Mother Nature’s control.

Thunderstorms in the summer of 2001 included considerable lightning and little or no rain.  The plains and forests were tinder dry.  Started by a lightning strike, the Purdy Fire was first reported on Wednesday morning 26 September 2001on a high ridge of the Squaw Creek drainage in the Gallatin National Forest.  When crews got to the site, the fire’s size was estimated at 70 acres.  From the beginning, their primary efforts were concentrated on protecting structures in and near the forest.  The fuels in the fire’s path included dry grasses, pines and dense stands of subalpine fir.

By Thursday there were spot fires erupting from hot ash carried ½ mile ahead of the main blaze.  The fire had grown to over 1,000 acres and was being pushed to the northeast by 35 mph winds.  Low humidity and temperatures in the 80’s hampered efforts to slow or contain it.  Residents along Wilson Creek’s west fork and the Little Bear Creek drainage were contacted directly and told to evacuate ASAP.  Many reported packing up kids, pets and essentials and leaving their homes within minutes.  Highway 191 was closed to through traffic.

Between Thursday and Friday the fire grew from 1,200 to 4,000 acres.  The blaze was classified as 40% contained, but firefighters still had a seventeen-mile fire line to construct.  The effort involved many local people as well as specialists brought in from all over the country.  Two dozen 20-man crews were on the fire line.  By Sunday, September 30, 831 firefighters, 42 fire engines, 22 water tenders, 6 bulldozers and 11 helicopters were working to control the fire.  The helicopter base was set up on a grassy slope between the Elliott’s home and the edge of the fire.  They considered this to be a very positive sign!
 

Weather conditions finally improved by October 4.  The temperature was down to 25 degrees and wet snow was falling.  The fire had burned 5,021 acres, and was 60% contained.  Now came the arduous task of walking the hills to put out any lingering hotspots, and to repair and rehabilitate the fire lines that had been created.  Many of the firefighters moved on to fight the 8,900 acre Birk Fire near Sealey Lake.  The firefighting effort cost $4 million.  

The Purdy Fire burned portions of Wilson, Little Bear, Purdy and Yankee Creek watersheds at elevations between 5,300 and 8,300 feet.  It burned 3,621 acres of National Forest land and 1,400 acres of state or private land.  A portion of the burned area included the proposed Little Bear/Wilson sale of 3 million board feet of timber.  Extensive salvage logging on private land began just weeks after the fire was out.   On 8 September 2002 the burned area was opened to firewood cutting.  Proposals for commercial harvesting in the Gallatin National Forest by June 2003 included 1.4 million board feet on 250 acres in 15 separate clearcuts.  Since burned timber loses much of its value for lumber within 18 months after a fire, lumber companies consider this proposal to be too little and too late.

Home & Hobbies

Bison research near Medora, ND | Bison harvest on the Flying D | Butterfly garden |
Golden retrievers | Hunting and fishing | NEW !  Jigsaw Puzzles | Montana trips | Montana (the house and property) | Montana wildflowers page 1 Page 2  Page 3 | Golden Plover Research | Plover update 1998 | Purdy Forest Fire | Wildflowers

Travels
Alaska | Australia/ New Zealand | Belize 1985    2000   2002 | Caribbean dive trips (above water) |   Tropical Reef  Life) | Hawaii | Kenya photo safari | Kenya  (with journal) | Peru | Switzerland and Ireland

Updated 17 Mar 04 by Aleen Kienholz