The Roaring Lion forest fire, south of Hamilton, has burned 7,927 acres in the Roaring Lion and Sawtooth Canyons, along Ward Mountain and in the Camas Creek area.

The Friday morning, August 5, update from the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team shows a 15 percent containment of the blaze. There are 735 people assigned to the fire. Crews today are concentrating work on the northeast and eastern sides of the fire to minimize possible danger from thunderstorms, which are predicted in the area this weekend.

Crews are also connecting a contingency line to earlier fire lines constructed during last month's Observation Fire in the Lost Horse Canyon.

NorthWestern Energy has been restoring power to neighborhoods that had been evacuated during the initial blowup of the Roaring Lion fire. Roaring Lion Road and Lost Horse are closed to all but local traffic. Lost Horse Road is closed to the public from its intersection with Lick Creek Road to the west. Twin Lakes and Schumaker campground are closed. The nearby Lake Como is open, however.

Fire crews are concerned about the weekend weather forecasts and the erratic winds, such as microbursts, that can accompany thunderstorms. Such possibilities are predicted through Sunday, August 7.

Evacuation boundaries have changed dramatically and the latest information is at the Ravalli County Emergency Operations Center at (406) 375-6650.

Information is also available at the mobile Firewise wagon, located at the Rocky Mountain Grange Hall, south of Hamilton, along US 93, just north of Blood Lane.

Temporary flight restrictions have been extended three miles south of the fire.

US 93 is open, with 45 mile per hour limits in the Charlos Heights area. The Bitterroot River is closed to users from Wally Crawford Fishing Access Site near the Como Schoolhouse to Anglers Roost, a distance of about 10 miles.

More From 96.3 The Blaze