Every firefighter called to Gibson Flats Fire, one of most destructive fires in Great Falls history

In the middle of the night, when nearly every resident was in bed, a wind-driven fire tore through tinder dry grass on the southeast corner of Great Falls, destroying 11 homes and uprooting the lives of scores of Great Falls citizens.

The Gibson Flats Fire can now be counted as one of the most destructive wildfire events within recent memory in Great Falls. At one point, every available firefighter in the city was dispatched to the neighborhood, where gusts up to 56 miles per hour pushed the flame front ahead so fast it didn't have time to burn all the grass beneath it.

"It was moving fast enough that it was actually skipping fuels," Great Falls Fire Rescue Chief Jeremy Jones said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Great Falls emergency response officials reported that no injuries or lives had been lost in the blaze, but as many as 65 individuals were forced to evacuate their homes.

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"At this point, we've lost 11 houses, seven garages and 11 out-buildings," said Jones. "That doesn't even begin to count the vehicles and things of that nature."

The cause of the blaze has yet to be determined; as investigators from the state Fire Marshal’s office continue to collect evidence. In total, 112 acres burned, but the fire was contained within an area bordered on the south by Gibson Flats Road and to the north by Eden Avenue.

"As to the cause of the fire, we don't know yet," Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said. "The state fire marshal and arson investigators are currently conducting that investigation."

According to Jones, at the height of firefighting efforts roughly 75 fire apparatus vehicles were dedicated to the blaze, while peace officers from both the Cascade County Sheriff's Office and the Great Falls Police Department went door to door, warning people to get out as quickly as possible.

"It rolled downhill through pasture land, got into some out buildings and vehicle storage, and then got into the Gibson Flats neighborhood," Jones described. "I have a very seasoned battalion chief whose been around for a long time, and for him to pull a third alarm as quick as he did - it was the real thing."

Calls for assistance began pouring into Cascade County's 911 emergency dispatch shortly after 2:20 AM Wednesday morning.

Battling the high winds, firefighters were also hampered by a lack of hydrants and natural gas shut-off terminals in the area.

"One of the problems that we had at the beginning of this was - this area and neighborhood is fed by natural gas," Jones explained. "There was no easy way to turn off the natural gas to that neighborhood without affecting the most southern part of town. When you do that you basically turn everyone's gas off and they have to come back in and individually light it."

Jones gave a high degree of praise to the firefighters of Sand Coulee, the first firefighting unit to respond to the blaze.

"There's no water; there's no hydrant system out there in Gibson Flats," Jones said. "We were able to use a city water plug up by the Talus Apartments. The Assistant Chief out of Sand Coulee did a phenomenal job with what was presented."

By daylight on Wednesday morning, the most critical moments had passed; however, firefighters will likely be on the scene throughout the next 24 hours.

"I don't think we'll have all fire resources out of there until probably tomorrow (Thursday)," Jones said. "It just depends on when those hot spots finally do go out. With the winds today and the amount of oxygen its getting. it's going to keep flaring up, so we're going to leave resources there."

Property owners in the Gibson Flats area in need of assistance are encouraged to go to the evacuation center set up by the Red Cross at Great Falls Central Catholic High School or call 1-800-272-6668.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Great Falls fire destroys 11 homes in one of the worst blazes in memory