Mont. Fire Surges, 250 Families Evacuated

August 17, 2003
By DAN D'AMBROSIO, Associated Press Writer

MISSOULA, Mont. - The burned remnants of two homes were found Sunday in the ashes of a wildfire that spread three miles in two hours and forced about 250 families to evacuate.

More than 100 families were allowed to return Sunday, but the homes of those who were kept out of the area south of Missoula were still threatened.

Winds up to 55 mph pushed the fire to 5,200 acres in less than two hours Saturday night.

"All you can do at that point is just get out of the way," said Mike Litterst, a fire information officer.

Fifty-seven new fires totaling more than 47,600 acres started between midnight Friday and midnight Saturday, said Julena Campbell, fire information officer for the Northern Rockies region. There were already a few dozen large fires burning about 250,000 acres in Montana.

"It's going to take a significant amount of moisture, which around here means snowfall," she said. "Nature started most of these, and that's what's going to put them out."

A fire about 20 miles southeast of Missoula more than doubled in size in the Saturday night winds, growing more than 7,000 acres to a total of 15,000 acres.

Residents along two creeks about a mile from Clinton were evacuated. Officials said about 100 homes were threatened.

The fire is also jeopardizing two major electric lines, one that powers eastern Washington state, and another that provides power to parts of Missoula and elsewhere.

Utility crews Sunday continued to rebuild two other lines burned in a fire west of Billings. Company officials had warned customers Friday to prepare for blackouts, but none had occurred by late Sunday afternoon.

Windy weather revived a fire east of Big Timber in south-central Montana that firefighters had declared contained just hours earlier.

"Under those conditions, it was: Fire one, Firefighters zero," said Pat McKelvey, a fire information officer.

More than 20 homes were evacuated, McKelvey said.

Elsewhere in the state Sunday, all 50 miles of Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road reopened, and residents on the north end of Lake McDonald were permitted to return home.

Outside Missoula, traveler struggled Sunday to come up with a route around the fires.

"There's fire to the south, north and west, so I'm not real sure what we're going to do," said Bernie Carroll, who was trying to drive home to Oregon. "I guess we'll just get back to a hotel and hang around for another day."

In central Idaho, 53 homes were told to evacuate after a fire near Salmon expanded by more than 1,000 acres overnight. It had burned to about 2,500 acres by Sunday morning, but the evacuation order was lifted after the fire retreated.

In Wyoming, a 13,500-acre fire destroyed four vehicles and kept Yellowstone National Park's east entrance closed for a fourth straight day, but firefighters were gaining confidence that they could save nearby Fishing Bridge Village. Fifteen fires were burning in the park, but all its major attractions remained open.
___

On the Net:

National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=4&u=/ap/20030818/ap_on_re_us/wildfires