Colt Lake fire explodes, evacuation orders in place
Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Jul 20, 2023
(Update: 7 a.m. July 24) Infrared scans of the Colt Fire showed the burn at 2,927 acres late Sunday night, with much of the new growth burning to the south. The fire still stands at 0% containment, and could make large gains on Monday as critical fire weather enters the area. The fire has started to approach the West Fork of the Clearwater River near Lake Alva, and Colt Creek Road. Fire managers said in an update on Sunday that crews are building a fire line on Colt Creek Road and Beaver Lake...
Colt Fire keeps growing as air support dowses area
Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Jul 20, 2023
Update: Friday, July 21: The Colt Fire reached 99 acres with zero containment Friday morning. *** The Colt Fire northeast of Seeley Lake has grown to roughly 15 acres as of Thursday, July 20, creating a powerful blaze that fire crews hope to knock down before temperatures rise this weekend. The Colt Fire was first reported early Monday morning. It’s about 15 miles northwest of Seeley Lake, and five miles north from Lake Alva. The fire was likely sparked by a lightning strike, according to the F...
New gift shop opens in Ovando
Jean Pocha, of the Pathfinder|Jul 20, 2023
A new brick-and-mortar gift shop opened in Ovando this summer, one that plans to seasonally operate by selling local crafts and metalworks. Red Shed Gifts opened for its inaugural season in Ovando on June 15. The gift shop is an extension of the standard craft fair table the Vickie and Ben Harbour have been using at the Ovando Christmas Fest to market their craft items. “I like to create spaces,” owner Vickie Harbour said. “We needed space to sell the things we make, then decided to make a gif...
Change your Pace Challenge reaches 95K, highest match percentage
Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Jul 20, 2023
During the 2023 Change Your Pace Challenge, The Seeley Lake Community Foundation raised $95,050.81 for 16 local nonprofits, and had its best-ever match fund percentage. The match fund stood at a record $37,795, which meant people’s individual donations were valued more than in years past. “For every dollar somebody donated, they really gave $1.82,” said Claire Muller, the executive director of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation. “It’s really great to see the impact be that high.” Nearly 60 o...
Congressional resource hearing held in Seeley Lake; Local students win state science awards
Jul 20, 2023
Twenty years ago... Thursday, July 17, 2003 U.S House Panel Holds Field Hearing in Seeley Lake By Donna Love On Wednesday, July 2 the Seeley Lake Elementary School gymnasium transformed into a Committee Hearing Room for three hours when members of the U.S. House Resources Committee met there for a field hearing titled “Management Challenges on Montana’s National Forests.” Called at the request of U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Montana, Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-California, presided over the three-panel hearing with participation by Re...
'Protect the Clearwater' sues state over Elbow Lake gravel pit
Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Jul 13, 2023
Correction: This story is now correctly updated with the correct name of Missoula District Judge John Larson. The story incorrectly said Don Larson in an earlier version A newly-formed nonprofit launched two separate legal challenges against the state of Montana’s decision to approve an open pit gravel mine last month, setting up potential court dates that could revoke the builder’s permit. Protect the Clearwater is a newly-formed nonprofit with the main purpose of stopping the new gravel min...
Helicopter rescues hiker
Alan Muskett, for the Pathfinder|Jul 13, 2023
Alan Muskett Editor’s note: Alan Muskett worked as a doctor in Billings for more than 20 years. While there, he wrote a column on the medical industry. Muskett now works as the Swan Valley Emergency Services Medical Director. The patient mentioned in this story was okay. The Bell 429 jet helicopter descended on the grass surface of the Condon International Airport (CIA) like a great green/blue/titanium raptor, one that had plucked an injured hiker from treacherous terrain of the high Mission Mountains. Awaiting the arrival of the patient was t...
Fourth of July shows off
Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Jul 13, 2023
Everything seemed to go right last Tuesday after a multitude of people swarmed Seeley Lake for Independence Day. The people of Seeley Lake showed up too, as the annual car show, pancake breakfast, parade and fireworks were highlights of the day. The fireworks show featured two barges instead of one of previous years, according to Tom Browder, one of the organizers behind the Fourth activities. The Seeley parade featured almost 50 floats. Three hours earlier in Condon, there were nearly 30 and a...
Ovando parade draws record crowd
Jean Pocha, of the Pathfinder|Jul 13, 2023
More than 20 floats whose occupants threw candy, glow sticks and misting water towards the crowd of 200 plus viewers. The floats circled the Ovando community at least three times on the Fourth of July in Ovando this year. The parade led by the Lincoln American Legion Post 9 went from Trixie's parking lot to the town square, where they stood at attention while Zia Kloetzel, from Ovando and now a Nashville resident, sang the National Anthem. Behind the color guard came Jon and Jan Farrar on foot...
Clearwater Montana Properties Donates to Non-Profits in Seeley Swan, Blackfoot Valleys
Seeley Lake - Since its founding in 1993, Clearwater Montana Properties has emphasized community-building as a key component of its company culture. Through its Charitable Giving Program, the company's agents give back a portion of all real estate proceeds to the communities in which they were earned. To date, the program has produced over $1,078,132 in charitable donations to causes throughout Montana, Idaho, and Washington and Wyoming. "Each year Clearwater and our agents give a portion of...
Loving Hearts hopes to grow support network
Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Jul 13, 2023
Seeley Lake’s only thrift store might just seem like a small retail outlet, but the nonprofit also helps with paying bills and getting teachers’ school supplies, according to its director Mary Newpower. Loving Hearts operates twice a week from its building behind the Mission Bible Fellowship Church. While Newpower is a member of the church, she said Loving Hearts is independently funded, and only focuses on bettering members of the community. “There’s a lot of new people in town that don’t know that we have a benevolence program,” Newpower said...
Glass recycling from Seeley to Salt Lake
Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Jul 13, 2023
Some residents’ old bottles and jars will find their way across the Rockies as the Seeley Lake Community Foundation will host a glass recycling event that should save resources while generating money for the local schools. People can donate glass from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 15. It is expected to yield several thousand pounds of glass, according to SLCF Executive Director Claire Muller. The summer pickup also could beat the previous Seeley record of 5,000 pounds of glass collected last September. “I think the word is getting out...
River Guide and poet Chris Dombrowski to present his memoir 'The River You Touch'
Jenny Rohrer, Alpine Artisans|Jul 13, 2023
Missoula author Chris Dombrowski will be reading and talking about his latest memoir, “The River You Touch,” at the Swan Valley Community Hall in Condon on Saturday, July 15 at 7 pm. Co-sponsored by Alpine Artisans’ Open Book Club and Swan Valley Connections, this evening is a ‘don’t miss’ for those who want to spend a vicarious day on the river with one of the most entertaining river guides and poets in western Montana. The “River You Touch” is also an intimate journey into the life of a family working hard to make a living in a rugged, Wester...
Judge halts work on Elbow Lake gravel pit, hearing set for Friday
Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Jul 13, 2023
A Missoula District Court Judge has stopped new work on a gravel pit three miles south of Salmon Lake after area residents filed multiple lawsuits over the validity of the project. Protect the Clearwater, a nonprofit group of residents near the Clearwater River, successfully petitioned Missoula District Court Judge John Larson on July 17 for a temporary injunction, or hold, on LHC construction’s permit to crush gravel and create asphalt for road projects. The temporary injunction means work o...
Home values spike in Seeley Swan
Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Jul 6, 2023
Jennifer Patchen has lived in Seeley Lake most of her life. She was shocked when she opened a letter from the Montana Department of Revenue earlier this month. “I was like ‘oh my god’” Patchen said. “I opened up that (letter) and seen (my taxes) and it was almost 100% more than last year’s.” Patchen lives behind the elementary school and is not the only one getting shocking tax assessments. Across the Seeley-Swan area — and the rest of Montana — residents are receiving new property values from the state, which coincide with their local share...
Clearwater Canoe Trail gets crowded
Griffen Smith, Of the Pathfinder|Jul 6, 2023
Dennis Bennett climbed into his canoe and took his daughters down the Clearwater River. The Bennetts, from the Detroit area, last visited Montana eight years ago, and they stayed in the same place — Paws Up. Last Wednesday, the privately-owned resort took the family to canoe the Clearwater in one of its white Mercedes Sprinter vans. It was their first time taking the trail, and luckily the other visitors at the site just planned to hike. “I shoulda brought a cowboy hat for this,” Bennett said....
Agriculture, conservation coexist on Mannix Ranch
Jean Pocha, Of the Pathfinder|Jul 6, 2023
The Mannix Ranch, Helmville, hosted a tour June 20-21 of their ranch and discussion of ranch practices as regional winners of the Montana Stockgrowers “Raise the Steaks” Environmental Stewardship Regional Award (ESAP) awarded for the 2022 nationwide contest. A system of values changing over time is part of the flow that the Mannix family spoke about as they shared their evolution as ranchers seeking resilient ways of tending the land and livestock they manage. “What seems right today might be pr...
Missoula County Sheriff's log for July 6
Jul 6, 2023
6/23 10:59 a.m. Trespassing 30XX Highway 83, Seeley Lake 6/23 11:10 p.m. Suspicious Activity 2XX School Lane, Seeley Lake 6/24 1:42 a.m. Suspicious Activity 282XX Blixit Creek Road, Potomac 6/24 3:09 a.m. Suspicious Activity 3XX Montana Drive, Seeley Lake 6/24 1:08 p.m. Theft 9XX Whitetail Drive, Seeley Lake 6/26 3:16 p.m. Trespassing 41XX S. Placid Lake Road, Seeley Lake 6/27 12:21 p.m. Burglary 19XX Holland Lake Road, Condon 6/28 6:52 p.m. Suspicious Activity 4XX Airport Road, Seeley Lake...
Seeley Lake Rural Fire District Call Log
Jul 6, 2023
6/22 8:03 a.m. Accident No Injury 2XMM Highway 200 6/22 6:10 p.m. Accident with Injury 2XMM Highway 83 6/23 3:20 a.m. Accident No Injury 2XMM Highway 83 6/23 7:44 p.m. Accident with Injury 1XMM Highway, 83 Seeley Lake 6/25 5:51 a.m. Accident No Injury Riverview Drive, Seeley Lake...
Swan Valley Community Foundation hosts first-ever banquet
Griffen Smith, Of the Pathfinder|Jul 6, 2023
Finding new ways to support residents in the Swan Valley took center stage last Tuesday, June 27. About 100 people met to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Swan Valley Community Foundation with a leadership award and small grants to local nonprofits. Residents ate dinner at the Hungry Bear Bar and Grill in Condon. Each had a slip of paper that SVCF President John Mercer asked the crowd to write two things: what issues the Swan Valley face, and what the community foundation can do to help. Th...
Carcass pickup program celebrates 20th year
Jean Pocha, Of the Pathfinder|Jul 6, 2023
In the late 1990’s grizzly bears began coming down into the valleys and coming across the ranch boneyards. Soon 20 or more bears were working the bone-yard circuit, according to research by Jamie Jonkel, Region 2 Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Bear Management Specialist. “The bears had a trap line from boneyard to boneyard on area ranches during calving season,” Jonkel said. “By instituting the carcass collection program in 2003 with the help of Blackfoot Challenge, the possibility of human-b...
By popular demand, Ovando speed limit reduced to 15 mph
Kirk Boxleitner, of the Silver State Post|Jul 6, 2023
Ovando’s population has hovered around 70 residents during the 21st century (71 people according to the 2000 census, and 69 people according to the 2020 census), and 61 of those Ovando citizens signed a petition requesting their area’s speed limit be reduced to 15 miles per hour. According to Powell County Planning Director Amanda Cooley, this issue has been under discussion “for a long time” within the Ovando community, which sees no shortage of tourist traffic passing through its boundaries, due to its convenient proximity to a number...
Old Salt Festival more than a party
Jean Pocha, of the Pathfinder|Jul 6, 2023
“People need something different than anonymous meat,” Cole Mannix of the Mannix Ranch in Helmville said during the Old Salt Festival on June 23-25. “Old Salt is primarily a meat company, and we’re borrowing a model from the breweries that have sprouted up. People go to breweries to have a good time and build relationships. That’s what Old Salt is trying to do with the festival, and have it focused on great wood-fired cooking, music and relationships.” Authentic connections with people rather th...
Seeley Market celebrates 15 years
Griffen Smith, of the Pathfinder|Jul 6, 2023
Dozens of people roamed from tent to tent outside of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation building to get their market fix while its leaders celebrated a major milestone. The Sunday Market at Seeley Lake turned 15 years old on July 2. During the peak times of the Fourth of July, the foundation credited locals for getting the event started, and its vendors who often travel to Seeley to sell their goods. “I really wanted to take some time during this bustle on this big beautiful day to thank t...
Archives for July 6
Jul 6, 2023
Twenty years ago... Thursday, July 3, 2003 Special meeting here July 8 on future of Plum Creek lands A community meeting to consider and discuss potential future status of Plum Creek lands in the Clearwater drainage and the Seeley Lake area will be held. Desired future uses of these lands will be a primary focus of discussion including consideration of such issues as wildlife values, public access, forestry practices, real estate development and suggestions for private or public ownership. This...
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