Fire Watch: Human-caused Horse Gulch Fire Explodes, Now 11,000 Acres

The human-caused Horse Gulch Fire in Montana, just north of Canyon Ferry, has grown substantially since it’s start on July 9th. As of Friday morning, the latest update maps the size as 10,849 acres and 0% containment.

Fire conditions are very dangerous with lots of dead timber fueling the fire along with extreme temperatures. Evacuations have been issued for the area in Lewis and Clark County:

(This is an) Active fire between York and Canyon Ferry. New evacuation from Jimtown Rd to York. Cave Gulch to Magpie Gulch, north and south of Canyon Ferry Rd evacuated. Canyon Ferry Rd Closed at Canyon Ferry Village to the Broadwater County line. For sheltering assistance, call 1-406-215-1514.

The Horse Gulch fire was first reported in the afternoon on Tuesday, July 9th, 2024. The current fire size of nearly 11,000 acres was evaluated by an overnight, infrared flight to map the area. The fire is burning in an area of dense timber and has grown rapidly.

• Current as of: Fri, 07/12/2024 – 8:17am
• Incident Type: Wildfire
• Cause: human-caused
• Date of Origin: Tue, 07/09/2024 – 13:53pm
• Location: 5 miles south of York
• Incident Commander: Northern Rockies Team 8, Type 3 Incident Management Team led by Incident Commander Brad Bergman
• Size: 10,849 Acres
• Percent of Perimeter Contained: 0%
• Fuels Involved: Heavy dead and down/dense timber.

A Fire Weather Watch is in effect beginning Saturday (7/13/24) afternoon through Saturday evening for low humidity and gusty winds forecasted over the fire area. Any existing or new fires that develop will likely spread rapidly and be difficult to contain.

• A FIRE WEATHER WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING FOR HOT TEMPERATURES, GUSTY WINDS, AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONE 118
• AFFECTED AREA: Helena and Townsend Ranger Districts of the Helena National Forest.
• WINDS: West 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.
• RELATIVE HUMIDITY: As low as 10 percent.

CHECK CURRENT WILDFIRE CONDITIONS HERE