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WEST GLACIER (Mark R Thorsell) — The threat of a growing wildfire on the west side of Glacier National Park has prompted officials to evacuate the Lake McDonald Lodge and other parts of the park.
The Howe Ridge fire northwest of Lake McDonald burned actively throughout the night despite Super Scoopers taking water out of Lake McDonald and ground resources hiking in to the scene.
Park and interagency firefighters have been responding to multiple fire starts following lightning activity Saturday and the Howe Ridge fire is one of the blazes that it known to have ignited.
The Park does not have acreage estimates on any of the blazes at this time.
The evacuation order for the Howe Ridge fire includes the Lake McDonald lodge area, the Avalanche Campground and about 55 private residences at the end of Lake McDonald.
Landowners have been notified in person by rangers on Sunday evening while visitors and employees were also notified of the need to evacuate at around 9 p.m.
The south end of Lake McDonald including the Grist Road and Apgar Village are not under evacuation orders, however the Going-to-the-Sun Road is closed from Lake McDonald Lodge to Logan Pass.
Visitors are asked to keep the roadways clear to allow for emergency traffic including those evacuating.
The east side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road remains open and Logan Pass is accessible from the St. Mary side of Glacier National Park.
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Mark R Thorsell
thorsell@kpax.com4062149958
