Crews Gain Upper Hand On Grass Fire

Firefighters hope to have a 24,000-acre grass and timber fire southwest of here fully controlled by 8 p.m. Saturday, a state official says.

As of noon Thursday, the Rosebud Creek Fire was 80 percent contained, as backfiring and burn-out operations continued, said Tim Murphy, chief of fire and aviation for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

A Bureau of Land Management single-engine air tanker laid down strips of retardant along the line, and back fires were being lit between that and the wildfire, Murphy said.

Fire crews regained the upper hand Thursday after the blaze jumped a fire line the previous day and burned an additional 200 acres.

The breakout, driven by higher-than-expected winds, was along the southwestern edge of the fire, in Custer County. The fire line, now enclosing 24,200 acres, is jagged-edged but roughly pear-shaped, with the narrow end pointing north and its thicker end about 21 miles south of Interstate 94.

“Several of the dozer lines were a long way from the perimeter of the fire because of the rough terrain,” Murphy said. “That and a 30-mile-an-hour wind ran the fire over the unburned area, and then it jumped the line.”

He said there were no injuries.