Another wildland fire reached a western ski area last night, this time Maverick Mountain. The community ski area near Dillon, Montana posted this morning that “with heavy hearts, we are sad to say the Sand Creek Fire is actively inside the ski area boundary.” The main lodge remained standing, but the area’s lone chairlift sustained unknown damage. “We won’t know the extent of the damages until we regain access to the property,” said the ski area. Maverick’s chairlift dates back to 1969 and was already eyed for eventual replacement. In 2024, Maverick acquired Poma quads from both Aspen Mountain and Jackson Hole with hopes of combining them into one lift.
The Sand Creek Fire started on August 1st and has burned nearly 20,000 acres. Today’s news follows a similar story out of Utah, where the Cottonwood Fire damaged a majority of Eagle Point’s five lifts. Last week the Southern Utah resort announced it wouldn’t open this season due to extensive damage. Across the west, other fires threaten Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon and Showdown, Montana.
“A big thank you to all the people on the front line and everyone who has helped us this far,” Maverick posted. “Please keep our community in your thoughts.”
Lift Blog 
thats a shame, they have a really interesting lift
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it’s not that interesting.
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seems quite unique to me lol. It’s a one of one. That to me makes it quite interesting to say the least.
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The Towers Sheaves and Chairs are all classic riblet, which is pretty cool in of itself(especially the center pole chairs), and I believe the terminals are both homemade. Its definitely not run of the mill.
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The fire has burned the Midway shack, and is on both sides of the lift right now. So far the main lodge still stands (08/11/26 @ 1700). Long live the White Thunder!
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https://x.com/liftblog/status/2087510285225734356
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sounds like the lift is toast up top. radio equipment up at top for emergency services is also gone. still active fire up top. lodge is ok.
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Spout Springs Ski Area, OR is also in danger. https://app.watchduty.org/?search=spout+springs. Sounds like Mt. Hood Meadows is safe as the fire is now burning east again.
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Anyone know where the quad chair is stored and if it is safe from the fire? At least they already have a replacement lift in their possession. Hopefully insurance/donations can help with the install costs. It can’t be easy on these small mom pop areas running on limited funds.
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Screenshot from the below report shows the lift heavily damaged and haul rope gone.
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That is a REAL shame, that lift was really cool. Hope they have the funds to replace, or maybe they could re-use the bottom terminal and most of the towers and line gear?
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It’ll be a stretch, unfortunately. There’s no way to know the heat-affected damage until the fire is gone and a thorough inspection can be made. Aluminum sheaves have far less heat tolerance than steel towers, but I have helped realign towers by bending the tubes with a torch. Sustained heat isn’t good for any part of a lift.
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Is it possible to with enough money, replace the damaged Double with the 2 Poma Quads they got from Jackson and Aspen?
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That’s a lot of damage. If Sierra and Eagle Point are a reference, they’re going to miss this year.
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That depends. You would be surprised how quickly a lift can be rebuilt. If Aspen Ski Co. still has the old Bell Mountain haul rope, carriers and the like. Maybe lift shacks unless they were torn down. Mt. Spokane is sitting on two used Riblet doubles that I think they are using for parts. Riblet parts are out there compared to Borvig.
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i’m betting we are going to see a few ski areas step in and help em out in many ways. we will see some good positive things come from this. can’t wait.
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