*Updated 8-17* Lightning ignites fires near Granite Butte, Mike Horse

**Update 8-17**

After a day of minimal fire behavior Thursday, firefighters made progress in fighting the Trail 467 Fire, which was listed 23 acres and 50 percent contained Friday morning. Plans call for skidgins to improve the fire line and fuel break while personnel continue to mop up Friday. Aircraft weren't needed Thursday but remain on standby as Red Flag conditions are in the forecast Friday afternoon, due to the possibility of dry thunderstorms and erratic winds..

There are 50 people assigned to the fire.

Firefighters responding to a small fire in the Scapegoat Wilderness near Bighorn Lake have the fire 100 percent contained. The fire, which was burning near a stand of dead timber, reached about three quarters of an acre in size. Firefighter will work on cold trailing Friday to ensure no hot spots remain.

**Original Story **

Fire crews working throughout Sunday and Monday managed to keep a fire burning in the Granite Butte area to only about 20 acres, despite a red flag warning and heavy winds Sunday.

The Trail 467 Fire, burning near the intersection of the Helmville-Gould Trail and the Continental Divide Trail about two miles from Granite Butte Lookout, was considered 30 percent contained Tuesday morning but the update indicates more than half of the fire's perimeter is considered secured at some level with fuel breaks or constructed fire line.

Lincoln District Ranger Michael Stansberry said crews went after the blaze with a direct attack Sunday, employing tactics that used heavy equipment to create a fuel break in heavy standing dead timber that often poses a threat to hand crews. The strategy is similar to that which proved effective against the Black Mountain Fire in 2016.

Firefighters planned to continue to construct fire line and mop up the cooler parts of the fire throughout Tuesday, while feller-bunchers and skidgens remove hazard trees and create safe working areas for hand crews.

Firefighters are also seeing some relief from the weather, with light winds and cooler temperatures in the forecast. Looking ahead at the next few days, the National Weather Service is predicting cooler weather for the Lincoln Ranger District through the weekend, with highs in the 70s and partly to mostly cloudy skies, but also a chance of showers and thunderstorms.

The first reports of the smoke column from the fire near the South Fork of Poorman Creek came in Saturday evening, after a thunder storm moved through the area and brought with it lightning and high winds. but only a little rain.

Two helicopters, a large Type 3 and a smaller Type I, were also making bucket drops to help cool the fire. The Forest Service had a Single Engine Air Tanker assigned to the fire for part of the day Sunday, but Stansberry said many of the resources were pulled over into the Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest to deal with fire starts from lightning associated with the passing storm system.

The red flag warning Sunday was expected to be the big test of whether the fire would grow beyond the fuel breaks, but relative humidity didn't drop as low as expected, which helped limit fire activity.

However, the warning did prompt the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office to issue residents in the McQuithy Gulch and Marsh Creek areas near Stemple Pass with pre-evacuation notices, which remained in effect Tuesday morning.

Likewise, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest Supervisor William Avey signed a closure order Monday for a three to five-mile wide crescent shaped area around the fire that arcs northeast from Gleason Creek to the forest boundary east of the Continental Divide. The closure affects roads and trails within the area, including South Fork Poorman Road, several miles of the Continental Divide Trail and the Helmville-Gould Trail west of the intersection with the CDT. Granite Butte Lookout is also closed.

Saturday's evening's lightning also started a small fire in the Mike Horse area, near Paymaster Gulch. With Forest Service crews busy on the Trail 467 Fire, firefighters from the Montana DNRC office in Lincoln responded to the blaze Sunday. They contained the fire at about an acre and got it under control quickly. It remained in patrol status Tuesday morning and DNRC firefighters will continue to keep an eye on it to ensure no hot spots remain.