PABLO – A wildfire west of Elmo has grown to 1,050 acres and more than 200 firefighters were on the scene Tuesday.

The Deep Draw fire grew by 450 acres since Monday in steep, rocky and timbered terrain near Montana 28 about eight miles west of Flathead Lake. It was triggered by lightning Friday.

 

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PABLO – Firefighters continued to battle a 600-acre wildfire Monday about three miles west of Elmo.

Wind gusts up to 40 mph caused flames to jump across the fire line Sunday, leaving the main blaze and a nearby 30-acre fire uncontained. Because the two fires are so close to one another, they are being fought as one blaze called the Deep Draw fire.

 

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POLSON – Lake County sheriff's officials say two wildfires are burning in western Montana.

Both are burning near Highway 28 north of mile marker 38. One fire is estimated at around 250 to 400 acres, while the other is about 25 acres.

 

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BILLINGS – A wildfire pushed closer to a ski hill outside the resort town of Red Lodge Wednesday, as 30 mile-per-hour winds fanned the flames and authorities asked resort employees to evacuate.

By early evening, the fire had grown to 7,539 acres, or almost 12 square miles.

An evacuation order remained in force for 90 homes below the base of the ski mountain. Residents of an additional 200 homes have been told to be prepared to leave.

 

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RED LODGE - Airplanes and helicopters dumped fire retardant and water on a fast-growing canyon fire outside this ski town Monday, trying to corral a blaze that was eating through blown-down timber and heavy lodgepole stands.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer took a small group of reporters aboard his airplane to get a closer look at the 5,800-acre fire.

 

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RED LODGE – Heavy airtankers dropped fire retardant along a ridge near the Red Lodge Mountain Ski Resort on Sunday to protect the resort from an advancing wildfire.

Resort employees stood by, ready to operate the resort's snowmaking equipment to send cascades of water against the fast-moving Cascade fire, said Forest Service fire information officer Jeff Gildehaus.

 

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RED LODGE - A fire 12 miles west of Red Lodge in the Custer National Forest has grown to more than 1,500 acres, prompted evacuation of more than 90 homes and burned five structures in the historic Camp Senia area.

Fire officials said Sunday the fire has been difficult to fight because of the rugged topography, the amount of fuel on the ground from a tree blowdown in November, the old age of the forest and the recent drought.

The Cascade fire was reported at 2:15 p.m. Saturday in the West Fork of Rock Creek.

People were evacuated from the Rock Creek and Cascade campgrounds, the Red Lodge Mountain Ski Resort, a Girl Scout camp and more than 90 area homes. A helicopter was used Saturday to spot hikers and backpackers in the area and evacuate them.

 

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RED LODGE - Risk from a wildfire in the Custer National Forest about 12 miles west of Red Lodge has led to evacuation of some homes and a Girl Scout camp.

An employee at the Carbon County Sheriff's Department says she has no reports that any structures have burned. The employee, declining to give her name, says she doesn't know how many homes were vacated.

The Forest Service estimated the fire had burned 1,000 acres by Saturday night. Earlier, a forest official said the fire was spreading fast.

 

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