Montana crews battle fires, weather

BILLINGS – Strong winds pushed wildfires near Jordan past containment lines overnight, and firefighters in eastern Montana on Tuesday braced for similarly difficult conditions.

Meanwhile, south of Roundup, the weather also was a concern for crews battling a blaze that reportedly destroyed at least one home.

The Black Pulaski fire, 25 miles north of Jordan, was estimated at 31,000 acres before wind gusts of up to 50 mph hit that area late Monday and early Tuesday, said Dena Lang, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management. Winds also pushed the Lodgepole fire, northwest of Sand Springs, she said.

An elite team specializing in complex fires was asked to assume management of the Black Pulaski fires, which include those blazes and four others, including a fire estimated at 28,000 acres, Lang said.

Firefighters Tuesday were warned of potentially strong winds and dry lightning, which have hampered firefighting efforts so far, she said.

“You feel so helpless,” Lang said. “Firefighters are out there working hard; landowners are working so hard.” Some ranchers are losing grazing areas because of fires, she said.

South of Roundup, firefighters had worked to put in a line around a wildfire that grew from about 85 acres Monday to an estimated 700 acres early Tuesday, in spite of an “arsenal” of air and ground resources, information officer Paula Rosenthal said.

Jessica Ayers, Musselshell County deputy disaster and emergency services coordinator, said Tuesday the county fire warden had confirmed three structures burned, including at least one house. She had no further details. A message left for the fire warden wasn’t immediately returned.

Five people spent Monday night at a shelter, she said. The Majerus fire also led to a closure Monday on U.S. Highway 87 between Billings and Roundup.

Rosenthal said firefighting efforts Tuesday would largely depend on weather. “These fires are very stubborn; they’re resisting control,” Rosenthal said.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who planned to tour fire-affected areas Tuesday, said Montana has resources available to respond to the wildfires. If demands grow – and it becomes necessary – he said he’d call the National Guard. But “we aren’t there yet.”

Schweitzer also encouraged homeowners to do their part to protect themselves, including cutting brush around houses and creating a so-called defensible space.

At least eight major fires have burned in southern and eastern Montana. Together, they had burned an estimated 345,000 acres – the equivalent of more than 540 square miles – as of Tuesday.

The Soda Creek fire, burning in grass and trees about 40 miles northeast of Grass Range, threatened the Crook Creek resort area, and limited access was impeding containment efforts, said Marianne Baumberger, a fire information officer.

The Flat Tire fire has burned about 11,000 acres, roughly 48 miles south of Hinsdale, Baumberger said. Two houses, outbuildings and fields were considered threatened, she said. The fire began on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and has burned onto land managed by the BLM and state, according to a fire summary provided by the BLM.

Progress was reported on a series of fires in southern Montana, with full containment expected by day’s end on the Pine Ridge fires north of Hardin.

The fires burned on about 121,210 acres, a figure revised to reflect more accurate mapping, said Dixie Dies, a spokeswoman for the team that has managed the fires. Responsibility for the fires was to be handed off to a different team, she said.

The Bundy Railroad fire, north of Pompeys Pillar, hadn’t grown since midday Sunday, information officer Pat Cross said. It was estimated at 92,000 acres, a figure resulting from better mapping, he said.