Montana Firefighters Get Break

Firefighters got a major boost - and Sunday morning off - from heavy overnight rain that beat down the Alkali Creek fire along the edge of the C.M. Russell Wildlife Refuge.

“We’re looking pretty good,” said fire information officer Dave Turner.

The fire may be contained today, Turner said.

Firefighters had completed lines around 80 percent of the fire by Sunday.

But a spectacular lightning display that came with the rain almost certainly set other fires that will show up soon, he added.

Half to three-quarters of an inch of rain fell, and the 175 firefighters on the job got some rest from it, Turner said.

Two-thirds of the fire is inside the refuge, and the rest includes some Bureau of Land Management land, a section of state land and a small amount of private land, Turner said.

Most of the burned land is grass and sagebrush, with some scrub timber in draws, Turner said.