Sep 10 Road Closure Information

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Tomorrow Bridger Canyon Road opens up for limited access, according to
the Sheriff on Facebook.

Several people have observed that construction crews are ignoring the
condition previously announced elsewhere, “This is not a time to visit
your neighbors or have friends, extended family, or construction crews
come to your residences.” We can do better.

———————————–

Effective tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 10 at 10 AM, the entirety Bridger
Canyon Road will be open FOR RESIDENTS ONLY. Bridger Canyon Road remains
closed to the public from Boylan Road to Brackett Creek. This includes
bikers and runners.

Residents should stay off the roads from 7 AM to 10 AM, and from 6 PM to
8 PM to allow for fire crews to travel the roads. When on Bridger Canyon
Road, DRIVE SLOWLY for everybody’s safety.

Residents will need to bring proof of residence to be allowed in. We ask
you to go directly to your homes. This is not a time to visit your
neighbors or have friends, extended family, or construction crews come
to your residences. It is still an active fire zone and fire teams are
still working. The objective is to keep the road clear for firefighting
efforts. Any extra traffic only hinders the progress. Residents need to
stay out of their way.

In the active fire zone, residents can expect to see smoke and flames.
DO NOT call 911. They can notify fire personnel in the area if they are
around, but they are aware of the situation.

In areas where homes have been destroyed and may have ignited propane
tanks venting, DO NOT APPROACH AND DO NOT PUT THEM OUT. Residents are
also advised not to stay in that area, and to collect what they need and
leave.

Avoid spending time in any area that has been burned, even on your own
property. Many hazards exist including burnt trees that are highly
unstable and dangerous.

We really value our relationship with our citizens. We greatly
appreciate your support and cooperation. We know how important it is for
you to get home to your residences. Help us help you get into and stay
in your residences by following these rule

Q So can brackett creek residents use Bridger canyon? Or or it still
Clyde park Livingston route?
A You can use Bridger Canyon except 7-10 am and 6-8 pm. Drive carefully
and watch for emergency vehicles.

Q Can you travel during restricted times if you have to go to work?
A Please try to arrange your trips to avoid those times, for the safety
of yourself firefighters.

Q If your home/property is in an unburned area can you stay or do you
still have to return else where at night??
A You can stay.

Sep 9 Evening Fire Updates

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From chief Ted Mather:

Update_PM_20200909_BridgerFoothills Final.pdf

Thanks to Richard Lyon for the link to yesterday's fire briefing:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=647525935903316&extid=jqFZ60UTyl5czvSX

I've been told that the fire material on Facebook should be visible to 
the public, without requiring registration as a Fb user.


Via inciweb, https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7144/55403/


    Bridger Foothills PM Update 9/9

Bridger Foothills Fire Wildfire
News – 38 min. ago

Bridger Foothills Fire Evening Update

*September 9, 2020 - 9:08 p.m.*


*Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team - Dan Dallas, Incident Commander*

Information Center: 406-219-7052 (8:00 am to 8:00 pm)

Media Inquiries: 406-219-7136

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7144/     Email: 
2020.bridgerfoothills at firenet.gov 
<mailto:2020.bridgerfoothills at firenet.gov>

Bridger Foothills Fire Story Map: https://arcg.is/1eqjm0



*Special Notes: *Montana Governor Steve Bullock, Lieutenant Governor 
Mike Cooney, and Major General Matthew T. Quinn, the Montana Adjutant 
General visited the fire today.

Gallatin County, Montana DNRC, Custer Gallatin National Forest, and the 
Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team continue their strong 
partnership in suppressing this wildfire and assisting residents 
affected by the fire.


*REMINDER:* Please do not fly drones near the Bridger Foothills Fire. If 
you fly your drone it can shut down all air operations on the fire. We 
ask that you respect this rule so we can ensure all firefighting 
activities are carried out safely and effectively.


*
Current Situation: *Cool nighttime temperatures and recent precipitation 
have limited fire spread. Acreage increased to 8,224 acres today due to 
more accurate mapping. Containment increased to 52%. Today’s 
fire suppression activity: on the southwest side of the fire in Division 
A, crews were inserted by air and will spike out along the fire 
perimeter; they began securing the fire’s edge to the north. In Division 
D (west side of the fire) crews flew to Baldy Mountain and began 
building direct handline towards the south. Division Y and the 
Structure Group worked from the Bridger Canyon Fire station to the 
Beasley Creek Road checking and securing structures and conducting 
hazard mitigation. In Division H (east and north side of the 
fire), crews were hot-spotting, cold-trailing, and building handline. On 
the north side firefighters continued to scout opportunities for direct 
line construction. Crews will continue to build hand and dozer 
lines over the next 2-3 days. A timber taskforce assessed potential for 
fuel break construction in heavily timbered areas directly north of the 
fire.


*
Weather & Fuel Conditions:* Fire behavior was limited 
today. Temperatures rose into the 60s this afternoon 
with relative humidity around 30%. Forecasted: Temperatures will drop 
into the 30s tonight with fair humidity recoveries around 50-55%. 
Continued warming and drying on Thursday ahead of a weak cold front that 
will cross the fire area Monday with breezy north/northwest winds. The 
weekend looks to be warm and dry with afternoon humidity in the 
upper teens.


*
Evacuations and Closures:* Additional changes in evacuations and road 
closures are expected to occur at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.The area south of 
DP30 (the intersection of Jackson Creek and Bridger Canyon roads) is 
going to be reopened and repopulated starting at 10am today. For further 
details on these openings see the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office 
Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/gallatincountysheriffsoffice/ 
or https://www.gallatinmedia.org/


The area closure for the Custer Gallatin National Forest is listed on 
the Forest Facebook page: 
https://www.facebook.com/CusterGallatinNationalForest/_._


*Bridger Foothills Fire Statistics:*

Size: 8,224 acres

Containment: 52%

Total Personnel: approximately 337

Location: NE of Bozeman, approx. 2.5 miles up from M parking lot, near 
the Bridger Foothills trail

Reported: September 4, 2020

Cause: Under investigation


*Resources Include: *Air 
resources include 2 incident helicopters and 2 shared T1 helicopters if 
needed. Other personnel and equipment include 3 Interagency 
Hotshot (Type 1) hand crews, 8 Type 2 hand crews, 20 engines, 1 water 
tender, and 3 dozers.

Custer Gallatin Forest Plan II

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The objection period closes on September 8th, 2020 on the proposed Custer Gallatin Forest Plan. During the objection period, people who have previously filed comments have another chance to respond.

The full plan is here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/custergallatin/landmanagement/planning/?cid=fseprd733838

The Bridger/Bangtail section of the document starts on page 158 here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd762990.pdf

Differences

There is at least one substantial change from the 2019 draft. The earlier plan placed substantial portions of the Bridgers in a “high” scenic integrity category. The 2020 draft places most of the range in the “moderate” category.

scenery defsscenery 2019scenery 2020I have an inquiry pending about this change, and how to comment.

If you notice other substantial differences, please note them in the comments!

Other excerpts and maps:

Vision for the Bridger, Bangtail, and Crazy Mountains Geographic Area

All three mountain ranges support diverse activities on the landscape, including motorized and nonmotorized use, summer and winter recreation opportunities, grazing, timber, and hunting. Parts of the Crazy Mountains and Bridger Mountains both have large unroaded and undeveloped settings. The roaded northern Crazy Mountains is actively managed. The higher elevations of the Crazy Mountains provide for the exercise of reserved treaty rights, and the practice of spiritual, ceremonial and traditional cultural activities by the Crow Tribes. The Bridger and Bangtail Mountains are in close proximity to one of the largest towns in Montana and provide important value to the community and its economy. The Bridger Mountains also play an important role for wildlife connectivity, especially for wide-ranging dispersing species.

scenery2 winterRec2 summerRec2 roadless2 designated2

2020 General Meeting

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Hi Neighbors –

The BCPOA General Meeting will be held on July 14th, 7pm, virtually.

The slides for the meeting are here: BCPOA general mtg 2020.pdf, in case you’re on the phone and can’t see the visuals.

Hi there, 

You are invited to a Zoom webinar. 
When: Jul 14, 2020 07:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) 
Topic: BCPOA General Meeting 

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8423VhixSNGvE_painyNCw 


After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

There will be a dry run at 7pm on July 7th, which you can attend if you’d like to test your connection in advance.

Hi there, 

You are invited to a Zoom webinar. 
When: Jul 7, 2020 07:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) 
Topic: BCPOA General Meeting Dry Run 

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wshz819BSlaYKXbPSQUaHQ 


After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

This is a great time to consider joining the BCPOA board!

See you there!

Tom

 

New Coronavirus Assistance Email List

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BCPOA has created an email list dedicated to matching COVID19 assistance requests with volunteers – for example, shopping for people who are high risk and want to stay out of town. You can sign up for the list here: http://bcpoa.net/mailman/listinfo/canyon-assist_bcpoa.net This is an open discussion list so feel free to jump in with information, requests, or offers of help.

BCPOA’s long-running general list is: http://bcpoa.net/mailman/listinfo/canyon_bcpoa.net This list is announce-only, to keep traffic low. We typically use it for announcements of BCPOA events like the General Meeting, pending County zoning actions, the occasional stray dog or cow, and (very rarely) fire information.

Crosscut Mountain Sports Vision

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Crosscut Mt. Sports Center has published a master plan vision, see

https://www.crosscutmt.org/vision-pages/our-plan

lodge map

The Chronicle covered this in December:

https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/business/crosscut-mountain-sports-center-releases-plans-for-development/article_0efba8d2-371c-5dc0-a97a-a39dde4c05b0.html

An application to move portions of the B2 and B3 zones in support of this development has been submitted to the County, but BCPOA has not yet seen a copy.

Proposed Base Area Zoning Setbacks Amendment

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Bridger Pines has proposed a text amendment to the B4 zoning, which covers most of the Base Area. The proposed change reduces the setbacks from property boundaries and roads for small parcels. I’ve attached a copy of the application, and the changed language is just below. BCPOA board members toured the area last weekend to get a feel for what this might imply. The application will be heard at the commission meetings in February.

The complete application is here:

Bridger Canyon (B-4) ZTA application.pdf

Potential Target Shooting Site in Bangtails

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The Chronicle reports that agencies are exploring 4 possible sites for target shooting, including one in the Bangtails off Jackson Creek.

The U.S. Forest Service, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, state Rep. Kerry White, the Gallatin County Commission, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Montana State University, the city of Bozeman, Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Bureau of Land Management came together to find potential sites after the closure of Hyalite Canyon to target shooting in 2017.

Overlaying the Chronicle’s map on Google Earth, it looks like the site is about 3 miles in:

shooting_location_earth

The overlay isn’t terribly accurate, but the location appears to be near the Jackson Creek Trailhead:

shooting_detail

If so, the location is actually just over the county line, in Park County.

There will be a public meeting to solicit input on the 4 locations on October 7th at the courthouse community room, 6-8:30pm. Details have been copied to the BCPOA calendar.