Sperry Chalet burns in Glacier National Park

Sprague Fire grows quickly with high winds

sperry fire glacier national park

One of Glacier National Park's historic backcountry chalets burned down Thursday evening as the Sprague Creek wildfire grew quickly under high winds.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, the main building at the Sperry Chalet was lost at about 6 p.m. Thursday. The Forest Service said a "highly skilled group of firefighters were staged at the Sperry Chalet over the last week."
Those firefighters had an extensive hose lay, sprinkler, and pump system installed to protect all of the structures associated with the Chalet.The high winds experienced this afternoon pushed the fire to the east. The firefighters, supported by 3 helicopters, made a valiant stand to save the structure but were unsuccessful in saving the main Sperry Chalet. The firefighters remain on site, are safe, and are currently actively engaged in protecting the remaining structures, according to the Forest Service.



The Sprague Fire was reported the evening of August 10 and is burning above Crystal Ford on the Gunsight Pass Trail. The Northern Rockies Type II Wildland Fire Management Team is now managing the fire.

Daily updates are available here: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/news/5510/
Maps of the fire perimeter: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/maps/5510/


Most areas of the park are open and operating as usual, including the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The Sprague, Snyder, and Lincoln Creek drainages and associated trails, from Lake McDonald Trailhead on the west and Gunsight Pass on the east, are closed to all use. Some backcountry campgrounds are closed due to fire activity. All frontcountry campgrounds remain open. Visit http://go.nps.gov/glacconditions for trail and road info.

A fire information line will be staffed 8am-8pm.Please call 406-888-7077 if you have questions about the fire and how it might impact your visit.

You may be able to view the fire from Glacier National Park's webcams:
https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm

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