Jericho Fire grows to 351 acres, evacuation warning issued near Helena

Smoke, heavy engine traffic and an evacuation warning turned the Rimini corridor into an active fire zone as the Jericho Fire surged to 351 acres with no containment, pushing Lewis and Clark County officials to warn residents along Rimini Road and feeder roads south of Bear Gulch Road to be ready to leave.

The warning carried immediate consequences for homes and travel in a narrow stretch southwest of Helena. Officials based the alert on predicted fire behavior and the limited access on Rimini Road, which has only one way in and one way out. Residents were told to prepare a go-bag, make plans for pets and livestock, and stay ready if conditions worsened.

The fire was first reported the morning of June 15 on Jericho Mountain in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, about 5 miles south of MacDonald Pass and west of Jericho Mountain in the Boulder Mountains. It was initially described as lightning-caused. Crews faced steep, rugged terrain packed with heavy dead-and-down timber and limited access, conditions that forced the Helena Hotshots to rely on indirect tactics. Burnout operations were planned along existing lines rather than a direct push into the roughest ground.

The U.S. Forest Service also shut down a broad swath of public access about 17 miles southwest of Helena to protect visitors and firefighters. The closure included part of the Continental Divide Trail between MacDonald Pass and Luttrell, while Cromwell-Dixon Campground and Quigley Group Use Site remained open. Roads closed under the order included Minnehaha Creek Road, Hahn Creek, Flume Creek Road, Telegraph Creek Road and Bullion Parks.

By June 19, the response had expanded with two super scooper air tankers added and a Complex Incident Management Team ordered to replace the initial Type III Northern Rockies Incident Management Team. The fire later grew to 493 acres with 510 personnel assigned on June 26. The Lewis and Clark County evacuation warning was lifted June 28 at 1 p.m., but heavy fire traffic and an active response continued to keep the area around Rimini, a historic mining district tied to silver, lead, zinc, copper and gold, under close watch.