East Fork Fire 70 percent contained, public meetings being held

The incident information system page for the East Fork Fire in the Bear Paw Mountains in an update at 8:03 p.m. Tuesday said the majority of the fire is contained and not expected to spread. The fire was 70 percent contained and good progress towards full containment was being made, the page said.

The fire has burned 21,518 acres, the page said.

Other parts of the fire still have heat and work is underway to secure these areas of the fire. There are no operational needs for conducting additional burn outs on the perimeter, nor the interior of the fire.

Work is beginning on fire line rehabilitation. Blaine and Hill Counties are making plans about the process and timelines for rehab of dozer lines.

A public meeting was held about the fire Monday in Havre, and a public meeting will be held this afternoon at the Chippewa Cree's Stone Child Vo-Tech Center at 4 p.m. A public meeting is being set for Blaine County as well.

A fire information phone line has been established 406-395-4275.

Beaver Creek Road is open from 5th Avenue through to Taylor Road, and to Rocky Boy Agency.

Beaver Creek Park remains closed to recreation, and Hill County Sheriff's Department is asking the public to stay out of the area for firefighter safety - the side roads within the park are still closed to the public.

The incident page is available online at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5582/

Watch for a story in today's edition of the Havre Daily News about the public meeting held Monday in Havre about the fire.