AP News, July 31st, 2007
Firefighters faced windy but cooler weather Tuesday as they battled wildfires that threatened hundreds of homes around Montana.
More than 100 homes and other buildings were menaced by a trio of wildfires southeast of Missoula. One of those fires, a 1,511-acre blaze east of Clinton, was only 5 percent contained Tuesday morning.
Residents of about 40 homes had been urged to leave that area, and campers and residents of 40 homes west of Philipsburg were urged to evacuate because of a 1,000-acre fire there.
Erratic wind was forecast Tuesday as a cold front moved through, but the front also brought a promise of lower temperatures and higher humidity expected to help fire crews around the state.
Organizers of the region's quirky Testicle Festival said the five-day event was still a go in spite of the fires. It draws thousands of people annually to eat deep-fried bull testicles, also known as "Rocky Mountain oysters."
"A little smoke isn't going to hurt us," said Rodney Lincoln, co-owner of the Rock Creek Lodge, where the festival was slated to start Wednesday.
In Granite County southeast of Missoula, authorities prepared to evacuate as many as 100 homes threatened by a 300-plus-acre wildfire that was started by lightning two weeks ago.
North of Helena, a wildfire in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness had grown to about 15,000 acres, and the Lewis and Clark County sheriff's office ordered evacuations in an area from Log Gulch to Prairie Dog town. That fire was 30 percent contained Tuesday.
Montana's largest wildfire, west of Augusta, had charred 30,200 acres as of Tuesday and was 5 percent contained, fire officials said. Lewis and Clark County authorities had ordered 27 homes evacuated on the northeast corner of the fire.
A blaze along the southern edge of Glacier National Park was just 5 percent contained Tuesday after charring 8,550 acres. Evacuation was recommended for several homes in the area, and the Summit Station Lodge had been emptied of its guests and 18 employees. Flames were within a mile of the lodge.
Large fires were also active Tuesday in Idaho,California, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Michigan and Florida, the National Interagency Fire Center reported. As of Tuesday, wildfires had charred 5 million acres, or more than 7,800 square miles, the Boise-based center reported, compared to 5.6 million acres by the same date last year.
