AP - Monday, July 30

BUELLTON, Calif. - A nearly month-old wildfire that had appeared to be
standing still flared up over the weekend, burning 1,500 new acres and
causing an evacuation order for a dozen homes, authorities said.

Warm and extremely dry conditions allowed the fire to burn through old,
heavy trees in the Los Padres National Forest on its uncontained
southeast side.

The blaze had consumed about 33,500 acres, or 52 square miles, since it
started July 4. It was 70 percent contained Sunday.

An evacuation order was issued for the Peachtree Community, about 12
homes spread over a wide area of the forest. Smoke drifted over Santa
Barbara more than 40 miles away and was reported in Bakersfield some 80
miles away, officials said.

Residents of an additional 200 homes were told to be prepared to flee at
short notice.

The fire's renewed activity compelled authorities to push back their
anticipated containment date from Aug. 3 to Sept. 7, Los Padres
spokeswoman Kathy Good said.

"What this means is that the fire's going to be significantly larger and
probably will be around for a while," Good said.

Elsewhere, hot, dry and windy weather in Montana helped a wildfire near
Glacier National Park grow to roughly 5,000 acres on Sunday and continue
to threaten an evacuated lodge.

The blaze had grown from 1,000 acres a day earlier and was just 2
percent contained, fire information officer Dale Warriner said. The fire
was running into heavy timber.

On Sunday, authorities reopened a highway near the park in northwestern
Montana, but they warned that U.S. 2 could be closed again if the blaze
flared up.

Guests and 18 workers at the Summit Station Lodge along the highway
remained evacuated as flames burned within a mile, owner Jorge Simental
said. The number of guests was not immediately available.

Fire crews were protecting the lodge and tearing down some trees that
were close to cabins, Simental said.

No other structures were threatened, but officials in Pondera County
asked residents of Heart Butte to be prepared to evacuate if needed. The
community of about 700 people is 18 miles southeast of the blaze.

"We're not going to call for an evacuation until it gets within 10
miles, so we've got some time," said Clete Gregory, the county's
disaster and emergency services director. "We just don't want to have to
pull a surprise on everyone in the middle of the night."

Near-record heat and low humidity also fueled blazes elsewhere in
Montana, with similar conditions forecast for Monday.

A fire north of Helena was keeping people away from recreation areas and
homes. The blaze, which had charred nearly 10 square miles, was 10
percent contained on Sunday, fire managers said.

A 1,030-square-mile fire in southern Idaho and northern Nevada was 86
percent contained and was near full containment, officials said.