Beloved Montana Ski Resort Hit by Sand Creek Fire

The Sand Creek Fire has damaged Maverick Mountain Ski Area in southwest Montana after explosive growth pushed the wildfire to nearly 20,000 acres and threatened cabins, homes and other structures across the region. Maverick Mountain confirmed on Tuesday, August 11, that the fire had entered the ski area’s boundary and damaged its sole chairlift, although the full extent of the damage remains unknown.

“With heavy hearts, we are sad to say the Sand Creek Fire is actively inside the ski area boundary,” the resort said in a statement. “The Maverick chair has sustained damage, but further details are unknown. We won’t know the extent of the damages until we regain access to the property.”

The resort thanked firefighters and others working on the front lines and asked the community to keep those affected in their thoughts.

The fire had been burning northwest of the ski area near Polaris for roughly a week before conditions deteriorated dramatically late last week. Maverick co-owner Erik Borge told Mountain Journal that Beaverhead County Sheriff David Wendt warned him Friday that the fire was expected to reach the ski area. By Saturday, August 8, the fire was exhibiting extreme behavior in hot, dry and unstable conditions, according to Evan Jacobs, Montana regional fire captain for Watch Duty. Rapid fire spread through pine and fir pushed the blaze toward Maverick Mountain and nearby Elkhorn Hot Springs.

• Related: Growing Wildfire APproaching Montana Ski Resort

Evacuation orders were issued Saturday for Maverick Mountain, Elkhorn Hot Springs, Shale Creek, Clark Creek and the northern Grasshopper Valley. Additional evacuation areas were later added north of Billings Creek, extending from Polaris toward the Ma Barnes subdivision.

By Tuesday morning, the Sand Creek Fire had grown to 19,682 acres and was just 1% contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Fire crews worked to protect structures around Maverick Mountain as the fire approached. A Forest Service hotshot crew cleared vegetation around 11 guest cabins at Elkhorn Hot Springs, while bulldozers cut fire lines along ski runs and other areas.

The resort also moved snow-grooming equipment into the middle of its parking lot and relocated portions of refurbished chairlifts that had recently been acquired from other ski areas.

• Related: Eagle Point Resort, UT, Won’t Open This Winter After Wildfire Burns Half the Mountain

Air tankers made numerous retardant drops around the resort and surrounding properties as firefighters battled to slow the fire.

The damage to the Maverick chairlift represents a major blow to one of Montana’s smallest ski areas. Maverick Mountain operates a single chairlift serving terrain in the West Pioneer Mountains near Polaris, approximately 40 miles northwest of Dillon.

The ski area and nearby Elkhorn Hot Springs have been owned by Borge and his wife, Kristi, since 2015 and 2017, respectively.

The fire’s rapid growth has been fueled by hot, dry and windy weather. Red Flag Warnings were issued for parts of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, with the National Weather Service warning of wind gusts reaching 30-35 mph and locally approaching 40 mph in exposed areas.

A potential shift in weather was forecast for Wednesday, with thunderstorms bringing the possibility of gusty and erratic outflow winds as well as lightning-caused fire starts.

For Maverick Mountain, however, the immediate priority is protecting the remaining infrastructure and the surrounding community. “We’re not complaining,” Borge told Mountain Journal. “Right now it’s about taking care of our community, taking care of our people. Then it’s a matter of putting the pieces back together.”

The full extent of the damage to Maverick Mountain will not be known until firefighters allow resort personnel back onto the property.