But, officials are concerned that the light rainfall recorded at the fires could easily evaporate, if a drier weather pattern comes. At the Middle Fork fires, south and west of Philipsburg, there was no active burning Tuesday, but lots of creeping and smoldering fire. Crews continued building fire line on edge of the Coyote fire and Skalkaho Pass fire, and also did mop-up work at the Skalkaho Pass fire on Tuesday. Helicopters will continue dropping water from buckets on hot spots.
Crews face steep, slippery terrain, and stands of dead trees that can easily topple.
At the Mussigbrod fire, northwest of Wisdom, crews built nearly two miles of line by hand along the east edge of fire. Two more miles of line were built using bulldozers and fire line explosives near Beaver Creek. Fire fighters there plan to finish their 29th mile of fire line today, completing line that's designed to hold the fire away from private property, should the fire flare up again. Mop up of hot spots continues along other portions of fire's edge. This number is monitored every day and evenings.