Update Tuesday 2 p.m.
Authorities have expanded evacuation orders around the Sand Creek fire in southwest Montana.
The Beaverhead County Sheriff's Office has issued a Go evacuation status from Billings Creek north, extending from Polaris to the Subdivisions Ma Barnes is located in.
The Go status order also includes Mountain View, Highboy Drive, Sawtooth Road and Clark Creek Road.
The Go status means the area is in immediate danger of wildfires, and residents must leave immediately.
Update Tuesday 12:35 p.m.
DILLON – The ski lift at Maverick Mountain Ski Area was damaged by the Sand Creek wildfire Monday evening.
Beaverhead County Sheriff David Wendt confirmed the wildfire spread up the peak of Maverick Mountain and damaged the chairlift and a small ski shack.
The sheriff added the Maverick Mountain ski lodge and Elkhorn Hot Springs lodge were not damaged in the fire as of Tuesday afternoon.
Maverick Mountain Ski area confirmed Tuesday on its Facebook page the fire damaged its chairlift, but they haven’t been able to access the property to determine the extent of the damage.
“A big thank you to all the people on the front line and everyone who has helped us this far! Please keep our community in your thoughts,” Maverick Mountain wrote on their Facebook page.
DILLON – The Sand Creek Fire is raging just two miles from Elkhorn Hot Springs and fire crews are working hard to try to save this structure and many private structures that are threatened by this growing fire.
Watch the full video below:
“Oh, it’s really eerie, you know, there’s always people here at the cabins and waving at you and stuff and there’s just nobody here. It’s like Bannack,” Beaverhead County Sheriff David Wendt said.
The Grasshopper Valley is looking a bit like the Bannack ghost town ever since an evacuation order was issued Aug. 8 for portions of the area. The Sand Creek Fire has blown up to almost 16,000 acres recently.
“Over the weekend that fire had all the right things it needed to really get big really quickly,” Bobcat Lakes and Sand Creek fires Public Information Officer Chris Joyner said.
More than 300 personnel are trying to contain this and the Bobcat Lakes Fire, which is only about half the size of the Sand Creek fire. In the evacuated area of Grasshopper Valley, crews are working on structure protection by placing water lines around the evacuated cabins.
“We’re using their own water, we’re using their own creek, their own resources. This is their closest water source. We draft it out of these big holes here, and fill our tenders up and that runs the sprinklers,” Tri Lake Fire firefighter Kevin Kleinworth said.
Planes have been dropping fire retardant in the area, and crews have been cutting back brush to try to slow the spread of the fire.
“A lot of houses are sitting empty. I’ve been getting a lot of calls from people out-of-state, ‘hey, what’s the status of my house,’” Wendt said.
Crews are trying to protect popular recreation sites such as Elkhorn Hot Springs and Maverick Mountain Ski area from the encroaching flames. Crews are hoping for some help from Mother Nature.
“We’re expecting every day this week after today to start to lose elements of those extreme fire weather behaviors,” Joyner said.
