Crews gain on 3 of 8 major fires in Montana

HARDIN, Mont. – Fire crews on the Pine Ridge fires near here were able to get additional line around the blazes, and a Forest Service official was optimistic Monday that crews were gaining the upper hand.

However, special teams have been called to take over management of two of three lightning-caused fires that have burned 32,000 acres on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and nearby lands.

The three Pine Ridge blazes, estimated at about 121,500 acres early Monday, were considered 60 percent contained, and fire managers were expected to replace the elite fire management team as early as Wednesday, said Dixie Dies, a Forest Service fire information officer.

“We’re doing really well out there,” she said Monday morning. “All of our lines held yesterday for the fires and our containment is up.”

With daytime temperatures in the mid-90s and strong winds, authorities dramatically increased nighttime firefighting operations, which Dies said helped crews gain on the fires.

In all, at least eight major fires were burning Monday in southern and eastern Montana. Collectively, they had burned an estimate of more than 280,000 acres – the equivalent of more than 430 square miles – as of Monday.

On the CMR Wildlife Refuge, the Soda Creek Fire had burned approximately 12,000 acres south of the Missouri River, about 40 miles northeast of Grass Range.

Special management teams were expected to take over management of the Soda Creek and Black Pulaski fires today.

The state Department of Transportation warns on its Web site of poor visibility and possible road closures on Interstate 94 from Billings to Miles City because of fires.

The department said on its Web site that U.S. Highway 87 between Billings and Roundup was closed Monday afternoon due to another fire.