Single Publication

Start Date & Location: July 9, 2024,    5 miles south of York, MT 

Cause: Human, under investigation          Size: 15,167 acres          Containment: 92% 

KEY MESSAGE:  The diminished air quality around the Horse Gulch Fire and the Helena area is largely a result of smoke from Canadian wildfires. Residents should take measures to reduce smoke exposure when air quality dips. Current air quality can be found at https://fire.airnow.gov/. Drivers are urged to reduce speed around the fire area to eliminate conflicts with emergency traffic.  

CURRENT STATUS:  Yesterday, crews finished suppression repair on private land and BLM land.  To the west, along Jimtown Road, crews continued to patrol the area searching for isolated areas of heat to ensure new flare-ups do not threaten control lines. Firefighters located and mopped up areas of remaining heat in Hellgate Gulch to minimize potential for flare-ups. Crews continued with suppression repair work along the Canyon Ferry Corridor and Hellgate Gulch.  They are assessing fire lines created by crews and equipment and mitigating erosion potential. 

Today, crews will move road graders in to improve roads throughout the fire area. Firefighters will continue to seek out and extinguish residual heat along the north and west flanks of the fire. Crews will also continue cold trailing and mopping up heat sources in these areas. Suppression repair will also continue along Magpie Gulch Road. 

Weather:  Weather will remain in a persistent hot and dry pattern with temperatures today in the low 90’s and humidities in the high teens to low 20’s. 

EVACUATIONS AND CLOSURES 

Evacuations: Effective 7/19/24, all evacuation warnings have been lifted. 

Road Closure: Residents only access on Jimtown Road from Riverside Road to Trout Creek Road and on Black Bear Road. All other roads including Canyon Ferry Road are open, except roads within the fire perimeter. 

Forest Closure: The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest closures remain in place around the fire area. Details can be found at Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest - Home (usda.gov)  

Campground Closure: The Vigilante Campground, within the forest closure area, remains closed. As of 7/19/2024, all other campgrounds are now reopened.  

BLM Closure: The Butte Field Office has issued a closure on BLM lands near the fire area. https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/mthlf-horse-gulch-fire/signed-blm-area-closure-07-14-2024