For Immediate Release

Rough Draw Complex Update, August 15, 2003, 9:00am

The Rough Draw Complex consists of these fires: the Rough Draw Fire (500 acres), the Slippery Rock Fire (620 acres), Speculator #1 (4 acres), Speculator #2 (1/10th acre), and the Hawley Fire (1/10th acre). Due to more accurate mapping, these acres have increased.

Resources assigned to the complex include two Type 1 crews, four Type 2 crews, five helicopters, eleven engines, and five watertenders, a total of 333 personnel.

• Rough Draw Fire - Located on the northern boundary of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, at the head of the Mission Creek Drainage, in the Gallatin National Forest. The Rough Draw Fire exhibited intense fire behavior yesterday that included tree torching and associated spot fires. The fire remains east of Mission Creek. Today, firefighters will be focusing on structural protection at the 63 Ranch. They will also prepare for a burnout operation to slow the fire's advance. Air support is critical in this steep and rugged terrain.
  
• Slippery Rock Fire - Located on a northwest ridge above Cottonwood Canyon. The Slippery Rock Fire exhibited extreme fire behavior yesterday. Beginning around 2:00pm, the fire made significant crown runs and was plume dominated for most of the afternoon, roughly doubling in size. It has spread west, towards Cottonwood Creek, and spot fires are north of Pauline Creek. Structural protection measures continue. Firefighters will be taking advantage of opportunities to use indirect suppression tactics as weather and wind conditions allow.
  
• Speculator #1 and Speculator #2 - Located on a ridge on the west side of Main Boulder Canyon. These fires exhibited minimum fire behavior yesterday. Crews will continue with line construction today on both fires.
  
• Hawley - This fire is also in patrol status and has not shown any activity in several days.

A Community Meeting will be held tonight, August 15th, from 6:00-7:00pm, at the Beaver Creek Community Hall, located at 651 Swingly Road in Beaver Creek. Members of the Southwest Area Incident Management Team, representatives from Gallatin National Forest and other cooperating agencies will provide an overview of the fire situation. They will also be available to answer questions and address concerns. The public is invited to attend.

For additional information, please call the Rough Draw Complex Information Center at 406-222-9280. Phones will be staffed from 7:00am until 8:00pm.

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