Helena, Mont. – Hot, dry and windy weather helped a wildfire near Glacier National Park grow to roughly 5,000 acres on Sunday and continue to threaten an evacuated lodge.
The blaze had been 1,000 acres Saturday and was just 2 percent contained, fire information officer Dale Warriner said.
On Sunday, authorities reopened a highway near the park in northwestern Montana, but they warned that U.S. 2 could be closed again if the blaze flared up. Guests and 18 workers at the Summit Station Lodge along the highway remained evacuated as flames burned within a mile, owner Jorge Simental said.
No other structures were threatened, but officials in Pondera County asked residents of Heart Butte to be prepared to evacuate if needed. The community of about 700 people is 18 miles southeast of the blaze.
Near-record heat and low humidity fueled blazes elsewhere in Montana, with similar conditions forecast for today.
A fire north of Helena that had charred nearly 10 square miles, was 10 percent contained on Sunday, fire managers said.
Elsewhere, a dozen homes were ordered evacuated Sunday in California’s Santa Barbara County as a massive wildfire burned across 1,500 new acres. It has charred about 32,000 acres, 50 square miles, since it started July 4 and was 70 percent contained Sunday.
