Montana WildFire Spreads Nearly Unchecked
Pastor Dale Morgan
Montana WildFire Spreads Nearly Unchecked*
Monday July 30, 2007 1:01 AM
By SARAH COOKE
Associated Press Writer
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Hot, dry and windy weather 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, he 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,'' he said.
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.
Elsewhere, a dozen homes were ordered evacuated Sunday in California's
Santa Barbara County as a wildfire spread across 1,000 acres, continuing
a new growth spurt for the nearly month-old blaze that had appeared to
be standing still.
Warm and very dry weather during the night allowed the fire to burn
through old, heavy trees in the Los Padres National Forest on its
uncontained southeast side, fire spokeswoman Juanita Freel said. The
blaze had charred about 32,000 acres, or 50 square miles, since it
started July 4 and 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, Freel said.
A 1,030-square-mile fire in southern Idaho and northern Nevada was 86
percent contained and was near full containment, officials said.