The Haystack Fire east of Elk Park and southwest of Boulder has grown to more than 1,760 acres and is burning in the upper reaches of the Little Boulder River drainage after high winds, low moisture and hot temperatures helped the fire run about 1.5 miles to the northeast last week, expanding it by more than 1,000 acres.
By late afternoon Aug. 8, the head of the fire was in the upper reaches of the Buffalo Creek drainage off of the Little Boulder River, according to Shane Martin, the assistant fire management officer for the Butte Ranger District of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, in which the fire is located. Crews performed structure protection for seasonal cabins up Little Boulder Road, including the Shields, Iron Side and Moose Creek cabins. The road is closed at Elder Creek. Trail 778, from Eureka Mine to Moose Creek, and Trail 4082, the Haystack Mountain Trail, are also closed.
The front of the fire was about 9 miles southwest of Boulder and 8.25 miles directly south of Basin. It’s about 4.5 miles north-northeast of Whitetail Reservoir. The fire continues to move northeast, and the head of the fire is now about 5 miles northeast of the point of ignition, which was just east of Elk Park and to the south of Haystack Mountain.
