Firewatch

Lightning fire forces trail closures near Gardiner

Posted: Aug 1, 2011 10:46 PM by Q2 News

GARDINER, MT - A lightning caused fire within the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area has now grown to 168 acres in size.

That word late Monday from officials with the Gallatin National Forest.

The Bull Fire was discovered late Friday afternoon. The fire is located near Bull Mountain, about 12 miles east of Gardiner and is burning in the Hell Roaring drainage.

As a result of the fire, Gallatin National Forest officials have closed about 2.5 miles of the Hell Roaring Trail (FS Trail #91) east of Gardiner, Montana due to human safety concerns. The section of closed trail begins at the junction with the Speciman Trail (FS Trail #84) and continues south to the Yellowstone National Park boundary.

The Bull fire is burning in dead and downed trees near the 1996 Coyote and 1988 Hell Roaring fires.

Gallatin National Forest officials say the fire management strategy employed on the Bull fire is designed to achieve the Wilderness Area management direction of allowing fire to play its natural role on the landscape.

Fire management personnel are on-site , patrolling and monitoring the fire behavior and fire movement daily.

The Bull Fire can be seen occasionally from Yellowstone National Park's Fire Lookout Webcam at www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm .

The Bull Fire is the second reported fire on the Gallatin National Forest this year.

Current fire danger is rated as "Moderate". The weather forecast is calling for continued warm and dry conditions with potential afternoon thunderstorms.

Topics: Billings, KTVQ, Gallatin National Forest, Gardiner, Montana lightning