Fire near Helena prompts evacuations, causes power outage

HELENA – A fast-moving grass fire destroyed one unoccupied house and a few outbuildings Sunday on the west edge of Helena. No injuries were reported.

The 50-acre blaze, reported at 2 p.m., prompted the evacuation of a mobile home park and several other homes near Spring Meadow Lake, affecting about 500 people, authorities said.

Brisk winds caused the fire to spread quickly to the northeast.

Fire spokeswoman Amy Teegarden said two helicopters dropped water on the fire and 150 firefighters fought the flames on the ground. An empty house and about three outbuildings were destroyed, she said.

The fire was largely under control by about 5:30 p.m., with firefighters mopping up hot spots, Teegarden said. Residents of the mobile home park were allowed to return by nightfall, but the evacuation order remained for the outlying homes closest to the fire.

Vicki Sanburg and her husband were working on a fence outside their home on Country Club Avenue when they saw the smoke Sunday afternoon.

“We just dropped everything and saw it was coming really fast,” Vicki Sanburg said. “We ran. We didn’t meander.”

The fire destroyed at least four power poles and caused an electrical outage affecting about 3,000 people, said NorthWestern Energy spokeswoman Claudia Rapkoch.

It would take utility crews five or six hours to repair the damage and restore power from the time the crews were allowed into the area, Rapkoch said.

Teegarden said the fire also damaged a historic, unoccupied building on the site of the Montana Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center on the south shore of Spring Meadow Lake.

The shelter currently houses 10 black bears and two grizzly bear cubs, Teegarden said. The animals were unharmed.