"Under the circumstances the potential where that fire could have gone was huge," said Ehli.
But he watched firefighters from all around the valley meet the challenge.
The Skalkaho Mutual fire was reported on Thursday at about 1 p.m. and three hours later, Ehli estimated it at 75 acres.
It was unpredictable and strong winds combined with the tinder-dry grasses that made the fire volatile, he said.
"I mean it was at the top of the ridge when we got there," said Ehli. "When we got to the top of that initial ridge it was already to the second one."
Ehli knew that he was going to need help.
"The first thing we did, once we realized it was off and running was to contact the Forest Service to see if they were available," said Ehli. "We started ordering resources as soon as we saw it hit the second ridge."
The Bitterroot Interagency Hotshot Crew was dispatched to the fire, as was the Great Northern Crew, a 20-person, type 2 initial attack crew out of Missoula. Some Bitterroot National Forest initial attack crews, along with three Forest Service fire engines and two helicopters were also dispatched.
"The Forest Service, within no time, had about 50 people on scene," said Ehli.
Once the Forest Service folks arrived, Ehli split the fire into two divisions.
"The Forest Service was really down in the lower draw and really trying to keep the fire down in that draw," he said. "They did an excellent job."
For a while unstable winds were pushing the fire to the south - toward the Forest Service people. They used water drops from the helicopter to keep the flames down, said Ehli. They were able to keep fire at bay, but then the wind switched.
The fire started to push the other way toward the rural engines.
"There were a couple of times we packed up and took off," said Ehli. "The wind changes direction and all of a sudden it's trying to flank you."
Ehli was able to get a bulldozer out ahead of the fire and dig a line about a half mile long. The Forest Service ordered a retardant drop from a tanker out of Missoula, he said. The plane dropped retardant ahead of the fire.
The bulldozer line, coupled with the retardant line, corralled the front of the fire and firefighters were able to push the fire against those control lines and finally contain it about 8 p.m., said Ehli.
In the end there were 261 acres burned, 28 of which were Bitterroot National Forest land.
But Ehli was pleased with how well the fire went - particularly how well the agencies worked together.
There were more than 100 firefighters on scene within the first hour of the fire, he said.
That included 12 engines from volunteer fire departments around the valley and the three Forest Service engines. People around the valley should feel good about how well the agencies worked in the coordinated effort, said Ehli.
The fire is officially contained on Saturday and handed back over to the landowner, he said.
