Fire update

The Hole in the Wall Fire grew to 4491 acres yesterday and is at 10% containment. Downdrafts from an unanticipated thunder-cell fanned areas of firing operation that was completed earlier in the afternoon. The fire has crossed into Montana and is burning in North Line Creek, in steep and rugged terrain. A fire weather watch is in effect today, from this afternoon through this evening; thunderstorms will move north of the fire area and may produce gusty winds from the northwest and north.

A Type 2 Incident Management Team, Rocky Mountain Team C, has assumed command. At this morning's operational briefing Incident Commander, Joe Lowe, was very appreciative of the hard work completed by Russ Wenke's Type 3 Incident Command Team. Firefighter and public safety will continue to be the number one priority with an emphasis on stopping the forward progression to the North and establishing anchor points on either side of the fire. This morning the fire is being mapped from the air to verify the perimeter.

Approximately 222 personnel are staffing the fire including nine engines, three twenty-person hotshot crews, eight helicopters and one Air Attack. Additional resources have been ordered and are enroute.

Basic Information

Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Lightning
Date of Origin	Sunday August 21st, 2011 approx. 07:00 PM
Location	betweeen North Bennett and Line Creek drainages
Incident Commander	Joe Lowe

Current Situation

Total Personnel	327
Size	5,764 acres
Percent Contained	50%
Fuels Involved	10 Timber (litter and understory) Higher elevation - bug killed douglas fir and lodgepole Lower elevation - sage grass and juniper
Fire Behavior	Running, crowning, and spotting.
Significant Events	Started preping line in Robinson Gulch for burnout in the next 48 hours.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Continued to prep final burnout line.
Growth Potential	High
Terrain Difficulty	Extreme
Remarks	Line held along Line Creek Plateau, significantly reducing the threat to the community of Red Lodge

Current Weather

Wind Conditions	27 max mph W
Temperature	77 degrees
Humidity	17%