The Reynolds Creek Fire was reported on Tuesday, July, 21, 2015 near Grizzly Point, approximately six miles east of Logan Pass. By Wednesday, July 22, fire conditions prompted precautionary evacuations of areas within Glacier National Park. The evacuations include the St. Mary Visitor Center and National Park Service administrative area. The St. Mary Campground, Rising Sun Campground, and the Rising Sun Motor Inn were previously evacuated. Evacuations for areas adjacent to the park boundary were ordered by Glacier County Sheriff and Blackfeet Emergency Services. The majority of Glacier National Park is still unaffected by this wildfire.
This fire was most likely started by a lightning strike on July 21 and has been consuming mixed conifer (trees), shrubs, and grass. Currently it is at 4000 acres. Weather forecasters are predicting continued gusty, west winds today (July 24), which could result in extreme fire behavior and the potential for significant fire growth.
NASA’s Aqua satellite collected this natural-color image with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, MODIS, instrument on July 23, 2015. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from Inciweb
