Respite from wind allows gain on fire

Winds didn’t kick up to the extent firefighters had feared Monday and crews were able to get some additional line around the massive blaze, but officials warned that the fire is still far from being contained.

“We’re still working on this thing on all fronts,” said Dixie Dees, an information officer.

“The weather, along with the fuels and terrain, has set this up to be a very difficult fire to suppress,” added Allison Jackson, another fire information officer. “But the crews are out there and they’re doing a terrific job.”

The south-central Montana fire has burned 26 homes and is classified as the nation’s No. 1 firefighting priority. Fire officials late Monday were still estimating the blaze at 180,000 acres, saying most of the burning that occurred since Sunday was within the fire’s perimeter. The containment estimate increased from 20 percent to 25 percent.

“The acreage didn’t increase as dramatically today as we feared,” Jackson said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to take off on us.”

The fire is not following the typical fire pattern: growing more active from mid- to late afternoon, then quieting down as darkness falls, Dees said.

“We’ll probably have an active fire until midnight or so before it quiets down,” she said.

About 265 homes were evacuated Sunday night on the western flank of the fast-growing fire.

– Associated Press

Cusick, Wash.

Turkeys crossing road blamed for crash

A Canadian motorcyclist crashed Sunday near the Pend Oreille County town of Cusick, Wash., when she swerved to avoid hitting several turkeys.

Patricia M. Brown, 46, of Alberta, was released Monday from Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, a nursing supervisor said.

Brown was driving her 2006 Yamaha on Highway 20 when she lost control while braking and maneuvering to miss the birds crossing the highway, the Washington State Patrol reported. Brown was thrown from her motorcycle.

The troopers blamed the turkeys for the crash.

– Jody Lawrence-Turner

seattle

Cutter returns early after divers’ deaths

The Coast Guard cutter Healy is back in port after aborting an Arctic voyage for research into global warming two months ahead of schedule because of the unexplained death of two divers.

The arrival of the 420-foot vessel, normally a joyous occasion for relatives and friends of the crew, was subdued Sunday following the death of Lt. Jessica Hill, 31, of St. Augustine, Fla., and Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven Duque, 22, of Miami, on a training dive last month.

Authorities have given little information on the circumstances of the deaths. Capt. Douglas G. Russell, who assumed command of the Healy in June, was relieved of command following the deaths Aug. 17.

Vice Adm. Charles D. Wurster, commander of the Coast Guard in the Pacific, said in the wake of the deaths he had a “loss of confidence in (Russell’s) ability to command.”

– Associated Press