Montana History: Natural Disasters

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MONTANA HISTORY

NATURAL DISASTERS storms

floods

earthquakes

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FIRE

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GREAT IDAHO – 1910

August 20, 21 Somewhere around 3,000 fires were burning

Hurricane force windsOf around 75 mph turnedThe many smaller firesInto a dangerous firestormBecame the largest forest Fire in American history

Though most of the firesStarted in westernMontana they very quicklyspread into Idaho – one town especially effected by it was Wallace, Idaho

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A total of 3 million Acres burned

86 people killed

Enough timber killed to fill a freight train 2, 400 miles long

Most of the destruction occurred in a six-hour period

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MANN GULCH FIRE - 1949A fire was spotted in the Gates of the Mountains, 20 mi north of HelenaOn August 5, 1949

The fire had started near The top of a ridge betweenMann Gulch and Meriwether Canyon – an extremely inaccessible area, with no roads

15 smokejumpers from Missoula parachuted in to fight the fire

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This August 1949 file photo shows the scope of the fire

13 firefighters’ lives were lost When a wall of flame raced upa steep hillside, catching them unexpectedly

The lightning-caused blaze burned More than 3,000 acres

Controlling it required the effortsOf more than 400 firefighters.

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Flat Creek Fire: August 4, 2000 – September 8, 2000

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Montana and Alberta Fires – July 30, 2003

Fast moving forest fires raced through terrain at the front range The Rocky Mountains in northern Montana (bottom right) and Alberta Canada (top right).

In Montana, the fires(marked in red) forcedThousands of touristsAnd staff to evacuateGlacier National Park (image center)

Sunday, July 27th, while in Canada, the blaze forced many residentsof the Small community of Hillcrest to evacuate their homes.

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Montana and Idaho Fires - 2000

-By August 8, 250,000 acres Burned.

-Dense smoke fromIdaho and WesternMontana is visibleStretching all the Way to North andSouth Dakota inThis image from theSea-viewing Wide Field ofView Senso SEAWiFS) taken onAugust 7, 2000

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MONTURE FIRE – LOLONATIONAL FORESTJULY 3, 2000-SEPTEMBER 10, 2000

JULY 31, 2000 – OCTOBER 3, 2000VALLEY COMPLEX FIREPHOTO TAKEN BY ELLEN MYERS

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JULY 31, 2000 – OCTOBER 3, 2000Valley Complex Fire

An evergreen tree Goes up in flames onUpper Nine Mile Fire – August 3, 2000September 11, 2000

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PHOTOSBY ELLENMYERS

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MONTANA FIRE AND ELK: Taken by John McColgan, a fire Behavior analyst from Fairbanks, Alaska on August 6, 2000 at the Bitterroot National Forest Fire- East fork of the Bitterroot River near Sula, MT

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STORMS

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An aerial view of a farm shop between BrocktonAnd Culbertson destroyed by the storm.

July2005

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Clothing and household items are piled on the Ceiling of 7-year-old Angel Bighorn’s home nearBrockton after a severe thunderstorm turned The mobile home up-side-down

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Lewistown MT supercell

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Photo by Tanja FransenResults of a microburst near Circle, MT.

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Mobile home Destroyed by ThunderstormNearBrockton

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RAILCARS DERAILEDBY STORM NEAR BROCKTON

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FLOODS

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Glasgow: 1952Floodwaters surround GlasgowThis picture shows how levees protected the town from being flooded. The flooding occurred as far west as Havre with $7 millionIn damage. Amazingly less than a dozen people were injured and noDeaths.

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Great Falls during 1908 flood; south side of Missouri river across from Anaconda SmelterAt Black Eagle Falls

Montana Weather: From 70 Below to 117 Above Published by Montana Magazine; 1982

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Entrance to St. Mary Ranger station 1964 flood

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St. Mary Lodge marooned; 1964 flood

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EARTHQUAKE

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MADISON RIVER LANDSLIDE

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Two people diedAt Cliff Lake Campground, 15Miles southwest Of the MadisonCanyon landslideWhen a large Boulder bouncedOver a picnic tableAnd landed on their Tent. Their threeSons, sleeping a Few feet away Were not injured.

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Chalked messages on HebgenDam tell those flying over that The Dam is OK, but people Need help (SOS) to get out Of the canyon.

Driftwood was thrown up onto the Road by the seiche in Hebgen Lake

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A splay of the Red Canyon fault scarp Lifted a 10-foot wall across the road, Making evacuating the area almost Impossible.

Four small landslides droppedPortions of Highway 287 into Hebgen Lake, blocking the exitRoute for people in the Madison Canyon above the landslide.

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The north shore of Hebgen Lake was Submerged when the rock on which It rests dropped down adjacent to The new Hebgen fault scarp. The Main residence at Helgard Lodge Dropped off its foundation into theLake and floated to this location.

Ground shaking caused roadbeds to Settle and crack, hampering safe Driving. This highway is U.S. 91 Between West Yellowstone and Hebgen Lake.

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