Early this afternoon we just floated
under the Silver Bridge about a mile above the house when I noticed smoke plumes coming from around the vicinity of my house. I pushed on the oars and got closer and saw the flames racing up the hill behind my place. The wind was blowing from the south east and blowing the fire away from the houses here in Charcoal Gulch. Later in the afternoon the wind switched from the west and the fire now threatened me and more so my neighbors up the gulch. An evacuation order was sent out for my four neighbors north of me. Three helicopters have been dipping water out of the Big Hole for the past 5 hours (dipping right out of my honey hole too) Four big bomber loads of slurry have been dropped just up the gulch. It is now 8:30 pm and the helos are still hard at it.
I just got word that they saved Jim and Audrey’s house.
My driveway has about a dozen fire trucks parked in it. Forest Service, DNRC, BLM, Silver Bow County, there all here.
Pat if your reading this and I know you do the helos are landing on your property across from the house to refuel. I took the liberty of telling it was ok.
It’s a bit unnerving when the flames are 200 hundred feet away from the house.
The fire fighters did a great job starting a back fire and it probably saved a couple buildings.
As of now the fire has jumped Charcoal Creek and is heading east toward the game range.
Amos (my great pyrenees) couldn’t take all the excitement. I couldn’t find him any where. I asked a couple fire fighters if they saw him and one of them said “isn’t that him there”? He was sticking his head out of the little white shuttle car in the drive way.
Right now the entire mountain behind the house is black. Oh well it’ll be good mushroom pickin next spring.
By the way the fishing this morning was great on top water.