Parks Canada crews help fight wildfire near Waterton

An out- of- control wildfire continues to burn in Glacier National Park in Montana, but crews from both sides of the border are hoping to get a handle on it over the coming week.

The fire, which is about 10 hectares in size, started Friday afternoon on the slopes of Campbell Mountain, which is on the west side of Upper Waterton Lake.

“It’s an odd shape. It’s long and skinny,” said Doreen McGillis, a spokeswoman for Waterton Lakes National Park. “It means there is a very high perimeter- to- area ratio, so that takes a little bit longer to get it under control.”

There are five crews from various national parks — including Mount Revelstoke- Glacier, Lake Louise, Yoho, Kootenay and Prince Albert — and two helicopters fighting the fire. They’ll be there for at least another three or four days.

“The goal is to extinguish the fire,” McGillis said.

The fire is located entirely in Glacier National Park, but Parks Canada crews took the lead on the fire as part of a mutual aid agreement between the two national parks that are located on either side of the Canada- U. S. border.

There are several larger fires in Glacier National Park that are tying up U. S. resources.

In Waterton Lakes National Park, there are some trail closures — including the Lakeshore trail from the junction with Bertha Lake to Boundary Bay, and Boundary Creek trail from Summit Lake to Boundary Bay. The Pass Creek day use area is also closed.

Similarly, there are trail and backcountry campground closures in Glacier National Park.

They include Boulder Pass Trail from Francis Lake Campground to Goat Haunt, Boundary Trail from Goat Haunt to the international boundary and Waterton Valley Trail from Stony Indian Junction to Goat Haunt.

The backcountry campground closures are: Goat Haunt shelter, Waterton River campground, Kootenai Lakes campground, Janet Lake campground and Lake Francis campground.

The Waterton Shoreline Cruises boat is still operating from Waterton to Goat Haunt, but there is no backcountry access.

PARKS CANADA A Parks Canada firefighter walks through a fire- ravaged section of Glacier National Park on Monday. The Canadian firefighters are south of the border to combat a wildfire that’s about 10 hectares in size. It started Friday afternoon on the slopes of...

Parks Canada continues to work with the U. S. National Parks Service to fight a 10- hectare forest fire in Montana’s Glacier National Park, about 260 kilometres southeast of Calgary.