The Copper King Fire, detected Sunday eight miles east of Thompson Falls, grew from 200 to 700 acres by Monday. The fire is visible from Highway 200. Its cause remains unknown.
Though several nearby roads and two campgrounds are closed, there are no evacuation orders in place at this time, says Lolo National Forest Fire Prevention Technician John Hamilton.
"We don't have any containment. We're just trying to secure the edges that are closest to the roads and structures and we'll go from there."
On Monday, several engines and 33 personnel were assigned to the fire. Today, a Type 2 Incident Management Team will take over managing the fire. They bring with them a slew of initial attack crews and air support.
"An IMT team is a nice thing to have. It’s like a traveling all-star team kind of deal," says Hamilton.
Fire danger in the Lolo National Forest is currently high and officials are expecting increased fire behavior today resulting from strong winds.
