Ging to the sun road closed again
 

As of this morning the Going to the sun highway in Glacier park is closed on the west side from Apgar to Logan pass due to wild fire. The east side of the park remains open.
High temps. have returned along with high winds and very low humidity have brought the Robert fire back to life and forced evacuation of Lake McDonald lodge and Apgar.

Not good news for the area!!

Oh, no. Do you live close to Glacier park? If so, would you keep us updated. We're going in early September to the west side of the park; hoping for better news. Thanks.

Yes I live approx. 30 miles away and yes I will keep you posted. Weather tommorow is calling for the same of high winds in the afternoon and hot temps. SLIGHT chance of wet storms by Thursday but dry thunderstorms forecasted Tuesday and Wednasday.

Thanks for the update. We will be at Swiftcurrent Motor Inn on 8/26, so we will appreciate any info you can share for us.

As of this morning August 14 the road is still closed and Apgar and Lake McDonald lodge evacuated. This evacuaion is an emergency precaution in case the winds shift as the firefighters have set burnouts in the area to starve the major fire.
Hopefully they will reopen in the next day or two as the burnouts thus far have been succesfull.
Temps. today forecast in high 90s with low humidity(forecast of 17%) and little wind.
Will keep you posted.
East side of park all the way to Logan's pass remains open.

Thanks,John.We do appreciate the updates.If you can, keep us posted.We will be leaving on 8/23 to arrive 8/26, so your posts are really needed.

KOK
Will keep you posted. On my previous post I noticed I had the wrong date. It should have read August 13 NOT 14. However it doesn't look good for tommorow either.
Isn't the swiftcurrent motor inn in the Many Glacier area? That section of the park remains open as does all of the east side.
Will continue to update any relevant info.

Yes, Swiftcurrrent is next to Many Glacier. Since this will be our first trip we are hoping to see most of the park or at least be able to drive the entire Going to the Sun Road. I'll keep watching for your posts and hope for rain.
thanks again.

Nothing new to report today. West side of park remains closed. No sign of rain but the burnouts seem to be working as the fire is over 50% contained. Let's hope for calm winds the next few days and no dry storms.

Apgar and West Glacier re opened this morning. The sun highway is expected to reopen soon in stages as the firefighters watch the results of their burnout.
It is windy today(Friday August 15) and temps are forecasted to be in high 90s with humidity down to 11% in the park. However there is a chance of thunderstorms this evening. Let's hope they are WET and not the dry storms we have been experiencing!! Temps. in the evening drop to low 40s as the dry air cools quickly once the sun goes down.
Will post further updates as news break.

Thanks,John. I'll hope for lots of wet thunderstorms over the weekend. Your posts are great and seriously appreciated. Thank You.

ATTENTION: KOK
The Sun highway is now reopen 24/7. Cooler days and higher humidity have laid down the fires and things are looking better.
We even had a little rain .02 of an inch. That certainly didn't put out the fires but it all helps. A firefighter remarked that the Robert fire will not be totally out until we have at least ankle deep snow.
Both East and West side of the sun is now open the total distance. Keep your fingers crossed that we stay away from dry lighting and come out and enjoy your vacation!!!
Should disaster strike I will post on this forum.

John: Thanks for your updates on the situation in Glacier. You are a truly a good friend to all of us who check this site as we prepare to visit Glacier and its surrounding areas.

John, have been reading your postings. Thanks for info. We are leaving for Montana 8/30 and plan to spend as much time as possible at Glacier. Keep updates coming.

Thanks again.

Temps. have returned to the HOT side,high 80s low 90s but humidity has increased a bit as has the dew points which helps reduce flare ups. However we had fairly gusty winds last night which prompted red flag warnings(meaning high fire danger) but the fire lines held.
The Robert fire was 60% contained but now is back to only 45% contained as of last night(August 19)
Going to the sun road remains open as of this post as does almost all of the park with the exception of the Kintla Lake area.
Though a bit smokey the weather remains summerish with cool evenings--temp. this evening forecast @ 43degrees.
Will post any drastic changes.

John, thanks for the updates. I'm not sure who K2OK is but sounds like they will be visiting also.
I have enjoyed your information, it has been very helpful. We are leaving tomorrow so I won't be sending any more notes. Thanks again.....you're really great!!!!

John, we'd like to thank you also. We're visiting on September 7 for a few days. In the past, we've been to Yosemite and areas in Arizona just after wild fire..everyone living in these areas are in our thoughts daily. Please keep up the posts; I believe there are a lot of other readers following this also. Thanks again.

HEY---Keep your fingers and toes crossed!!! WET thunderstorms are forecasted for tommorow Friday August 22 albeit with lightning. Let's hope for a nice steady rain.
Temps today in the high 80s but last nights official low was 38 degrees. Dry air warms and cools quickly!!
Two new fires in the Hungry Horse area and the west side road from Hungry Horse dam is closed as is Jewel Basin. However the Sun highway remains open 24/7 as does MOST of the park.
Happy vacation----and your welcome!!

I really appreciate your help in keeping us informed about the road and the park. Planning a trip there on September 9th. Thanks for keeping us posted.

These posts have been very interesting to me. We are leaving Sept. 11 for West Glacier. Decided that if we waited for perfect conditions, we may never go. Thanks, especially to John, for great posts!

Hello from Northwest Montana
The sun highway remains open 24/7 though it was closed briefly Saturday due to heavy smoke. Much cooler temps.(high 70s during day low 40s nights) and higher humidity ,dew points, and a bit of rain on Saturday has caused the Robert fire to lay down. Firefighters are able to work at controlling and now have it back to 50% contained.
No rain in sight but cooler temps and no winds are forecast.
Kintla Lake area remains closed but pratically all other parts of the park are opened.
Will post any significant changes as they happen.

John, we are back from our Glacier trip. The smoke had almost no impact on our enjoyment. It is undoubtedly the most beautiful national park in the country. And we have been to parks in almost every state. The accomodations at Swiftcurrent were great and the views were magnificent. We saw Grizzly and Black Bears,Moose, Mule Deer, Mountain Goats, Big Horn Sheep and all the smaller creatures, too.
Thanks again for all the updates, you made planning our trip easier and more enjoyable. You truly are a great person. Thanks!

And thank you kok for your trip report. We are leaving Thursday for Waterton and Glacier and were feeling apprehensive about being able to enjoy the scenery. Did you travel the full length of Going to the Sun Road? Would appreciate any special advice that you may have. We will be driving from South Carolina, so the remaining smoke should have plenty of time to clear out before we arrive. Just hope it's not replaced by a foot of snow!

KOK
Your welcome. Glad you enjoyed your trip. I was at Logan pass yesterday(Sept.7) for the first time since the fires. On our way up from the west side we couldn't even see Lake McDonald from the road due to the heavy smoke. Did a bit of hiking up top and by late afternoon a friendly west wind had cleared all the smoke and so we were able to see the burned out areas.
Today it is raining (hoorah) and more rain is expected tommorow. This of course will not put the fires out but will give the firefighters a breather and time to build fire lines. Fires will only be put out by mother nature and we will need a couple of inches of snow for that.
Snow is probable for the higher elivations tonight but only a dusting--mostly rain.
Temp. at the moment in the valley is 49. Outlook for the week is for temps. daytime in high 60s and nights in low 40s with showers the balance of the week.
ELLIJAY
Ther is still lots of smoke and will be till probably late October. Inversions and wind direction will dictate whether you get a scenic ride.
Come on out and have a great trip.

Ellijay, sorry I missed responding to your note. I hope you trip is as beautiful as ours was.
John, the smoke and inversion layers worked in our favor when we were there. We've got some beautiful pics of the smoke with the sun shining through. We were at Two Medicine the day the closed the trials and brought in the heavier equipment. I'm glad to see their side is reopened.
When you were at Logan's pass did you hike to Hidden Lake? It was beautiful and worth the time. We also hiked the trail opposite there that winds around the Going to the Sun Road.
thanks again.

Since my message of 9/8 the park has recv'd approx.2 inches of rain so it is pretty clear up there.
More snow flurries are forecast so it may be the beginning of the end of the fire season. Let's hope!!