Officials ID firefighter who died in the line of duty on Bivens Creek fire in SW Montana

The Bivens Creek and Cloudrest fires, reported on Aug. 13 and Aug. 14, are burning 15 miles northwest of Virginia City in Madison County.

Here's the latest information on the lightning-caused fire, including size, cause, containment efforts and more:

Officials ID firefighter who died in the line of duty on Bivens Creek fire in SW Montana

Updated at 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 25

Madison County Sheriff's Office, along with the Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 6, on Monday identified the firefighter who died in the line of duty on the Bivens Creek Fire as Ruben Gonzales Romero of Keizer, Oregon.

"Ruben was a veteran wildland firefighter with over 20 years of experience and was currently on a Type 2 crew with TJ Contracting LLC," an update from fire managers reads. "He served primarily as a sawyer, a firefighter who fells and cuts trees and brush with a chainsaw, as part of a 20 person crew and brought significant experience and wisdom to the fire line and the people with whom he worked. We rest a little more comfortably knowing that he died doing what he loved."

He suffered a cardiac emergency on Sunday. Medical assistance was rendered from a paramedic on the fire line, however resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

A post on the TJ Forestry Facebook page publicly confirmed the passing of Romero Monday afternoon. 

"He was a dedicated firefighter whom loved his job and enjoyed running his saw on the line. He brought joy, laughter, and wisdom to every crew he worked on," the post reads.

"Ruben, you will be dearly missed. Thank you for your dedication and hard work. Our deepest condolences to all his friends and family."

Romero’s family is in route to Montana and an honor guard made up of incident and local firefighters will remain with Ruben until his body is carried back home.

Firefighter dies in the line of duty on Bivens Creek fire 

Updated on Aug. 25 at 6:30 a.m.

A firefighter on the ground working the Bivens Creek fire in the Tobacco Root mountains died in the line of duty Sunday according to fire managers.

The firefighter suffered a cardiac emergency. Medical assistance was rendered from a paramedic on the fire line, however resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

"Our hearts go out to his family and friends," a release from Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 6 reads. "The wildland fire community is inherently interagency, and a line of duty death impacts us all."

"We deeply appreciate this firefighter's dedication to his profession and to the communities threatened by wildland fire."

Support is being provided to the fellow firefighters and friends on the Bivens Creek and Cloudrest fires.

The Madison County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death. The ID of the firefighter has not been released.

"Susan and I ask all Montanans to join us in praying for the family and friends of this fallen hero," a Facebook post from Gov. Greg Gianforte reads.

The fire was listed Sunday at 2,242 acres with 0% containment. There are 741 personnel on scene.

Fire officials: Concerning winds to hit Tobacco Root wildfires Friday

Updated on Aug. 22 at 11 a.m.

Worrisome winds are expected to hit the Bivens Creek and Cloudrest fires on Friday, fire officials said.

"Friday’s concern is the wind," a Friday morning fire update reads. "Winds typically come out of the southwest this time of year; however, winds are forecasted out of the northeast, pushing the fire in different directions and interacting with various terrain features."

Firefighters are adjusting tactics Friday to account for this while still trying to protect the primary values at risk.

An infrared flight was completed and captured the current fire size and shape more accurately after a couple days without the mapping. The Bivens Creek fire is now at 2,219 acres and the Cloudrest fire is at 1,733 acres. 

Officials are reporting 0% containment on both fires.

An Air Resource Advisor has been ordered to work with Madison County Public Health on air quality monitoring, as weather conditions will likely keep smoke at lower elevations. For air quality and smoke information, visit the AirNow air quality monitoring website.

Conditions Friday will be slightly cooler, with a small improvement in relative humidity. However, managers do expect continued active fire growth as the standing dead trees and downed timber remain very dry.

As mentioned, winds will be mainly northeast, with higher gusts at around 6 p.m. Friday.

Fire activity on both fires has been active at night due to an atmospheric condition known as a thermal belt – warmer air gets trapped at the higher mountain elevations, yielding far warmer temperatures.

Residents may see a glow from the fires late into the night, resulting from the active burning in this warm air.

CLOUDREST

A Type 1 hotshot crew will continue to improve the containment line on the north end in the South Willow Creek drainage Friday.

By utilizing the natural features of the rocky terrain, firefighters will continue building fire line connecting these features to prevent spread down valley toward homes and the community of Pony.

Fire crews will scout and identify new primary and secondary control lines in the Indian Creek drainage, where the fire made some headway Thursday.

BIVENS CREEK

The Bivens Creek fire remains the highest priority to fire officials due to its proximity to residences in South Meadow Creek and areas south of the fire.

Firefighters made progress on the hand line on the west side of the fire and will continue to work north into Ramshorn Creek to help protect inholdings to the west.

There is active fire growth in the Ramshorn area that aerial resources will continue to address. The bulldozers were not able to reinforce the retardant lines on the east side of the fire due to fire activity, and fire managers think they will have a good opportunity Friday with the shift in wind directions.

A structure protection group will move into the South Meadow Creek area to begin assessing homes.

Community meeting scheduled for Tobacco Roots fires

Updated on Aug. 21 at 10 a.m.

A community meeting has been scheduled for the two wildfires burning in the Tobacco Root mountains in Madison County.

The meeting will be 7 p.m. Thursday at the Ennis Assembly of God, at 402 Madison Street in Ennis.

Fire managers will discuss strategies, critical values, fire conditions and fire behavior. An infrared flight was not possible Wednesday night, so mapping and acreage have not been updated, although fire officials say that both fires have grown.

Currently, the Bivens Creek fire is reported at 2,267 acres and the Cloudrest fire is at 1,190 acres. Both fires are 0% contained.

There is a total of 332 personnel assigned the complex fire.

Weather conditions Thursday will be slightly cooler, with a small improvement in relative humidity. However, managers do expect continued active fire growth as the standing dead trees and downed timber remain very dry. Winds will be mainly terrain-driven with gusts out of the southwest up to 15 mph. Around 5pm, winds should shift from out of the southwest to the northeast.

For air quality and smoke information, visit the AirNow air quality tracking website.

BIVENS CREEK

The Bivens Creek fire remains as the highest priority due to its proximity to residences in South Meadow Creek and areas south of the fire, officials said.

Crews continue to create and improve a good anchor and handline on the fire’s west side.

The fire did grow some to the east as expected, and a spot fire was observed in the South Meadow Creek Lake basin. Helicopters assisted with water bucket drops. Retardant drops continued on the east side and a bulldozer and engines should start reinforcing these lines this morning.

Fire crews will continue scouting for opportunities, improving secondary control lines, and performing structure assessments and protection as needed.

CLOUDREST

The fire grew significantly on the southwest corner, requiring a change in tactics as working directly along the fire’s edge on this part of the fire is no longer viable.

On the south end, for firefighter safety and to align with the new direction, the hotshot crew has been pulled out of the Hill Reservoir area.

Fire managers will look for different opportunities to put in fire line. On the north side, fire growth near South Willow Creek was slow and additional resources will be needed to put in more direct line.

Crews continue to look at structure protection and planning for activities when resources are secured.

Complex incident team takes over Tobacco Root wildfires burning over 3,000 acres

Updated on Aug. 18 at 10 a.m.

Two lightning-caused wildfires burning in the Tobacco Root Mountains have burned over 3,000 acres since last week and have been assigned a complex incident management team.

The Bivens Creek fire was reported on Aug. 13 around 6 p.m. and the Cloudrest fire was reported on Aug. 14 around 4 p.m. by the Alert West camera system.

As of Monday morning, the Bivens Creek fire has burned 2,059 acres and the Cloudrest fire has burned 1,182 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Both fires are 0% contained.

Officials have scheduled a community meeting for Tuesday at the Sheridan Fire Station, located at 3284 Highway 287 South, in Sheridan. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

Both fires are about 15 miles north of Virginia City, burning in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The fire is burning thick subalpine fir timber, with a large "snag" or hazard tree component and a high concentration of dead and downed fuels.

Team members from Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 6, a Complex Incident Management Team, took command of the fire at 7 p.m. Sunday night.

"The team brings significantly more resources to support the Madison Ranger District’s goals and priorities when it comes to the full suppression of these fires," a news release states.

There are 109 total personnel on the Bivens Creek fire and 32 total personnel on the Cloudrest fire.

Higher humidity and cloud cover reduced the fire activity for both the Bivens Creek and Cloudrest fires on Sunday. While several wet thunderstorms moved through the area, neither fire received significant wetting rain.

Monday’s weather is expected to be around 15 degrees warmer with lower humidities and winds out of the southwest, leading to an increase in fire activity. Residents and visitors can expect to see increased smoke with columns building in the afternoon.

Smoke will continue to impact communities to the northeast of the fires, like Pony, Harrison and Bozeman. 

Incoming resources on the Cloudrest fire will begin to put in direct fireline along the burned or burning edge of the fire on both the north and west sides of the fire. The western portion is in the headwaters of Indian Creek, the municipal watershed for the community of Sheridan, which has been identified as a high-priority value. Crews will also begin to build secondary containment lines by improving existing two track roads.

An infrared flight on Sunday night indicated that the most active part of the Bivens Creek fire is moving east, around the flank of Ramshorn Mountain.

As the weather conditions become favorable for large fire growth over the next few days, this fire is expected to continue to push east into terrain with significant dead and downed fuel. Growth to the west will be slower, but steady.

Crews will begin to put in direct line along the west flank of fire to protect the structures in Ramshorn, Bivens Creek and Harris Creek areas and the Ramshorn watershed. Two track roads will again be improved and connected to serve as secondary containment lines to help protect these priority values.

There is a Temporary Flight Restriction in place over both fire areas. The TFR is in place to provide a safe environment for firefighting aircraft operations. The TFR extends for seven nautical miles from the surface of the ground up to and including 15,000 feet.

The National Forest has issued a closure order for a portion of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest for the Bivens Creek and Cloudrest Fires.  A public information map released by officials outlines the area included.

This story will be updated.