Little Rockies fire grows to 8,300 acres

After spreading 6,000 acres in two days and prompting the evacuation of Landusky, firefighters have begun to contain the fire in the Little Rocky Mountains that was started July 3, a fire information officer said this morning.

Type-2 Incident Management Team Fire Information Officer Kathy Russell said firefighters - comprising federal and local personnel - had a good day Thursday, "in spite of the conditions," and the 8,381-acre fire is 10 percent contained.

"We have good solid line in that area," Russell said.

The fire covered 1,669 acres Tuesday.

Russell said everyone in Landusky evacuated Thursday - a west wind pushed the fire close to the 40-person town - and she didn't have any information on when the evacuation would be lifted.

Landusky citizens were good partners in firefighting, Russell said, adding steps like picking up brush and ensuring anything flammable was removed off the properties were the exact sort of things that helped the 189-mixed firefighting crew better battle the blaze.

Crews from the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Department of Natural Resources, Phillips County and a number of volunteer fire departments had all responded on the scene by July 3. A heavy air tanker, multiple single engine air tankers, four helicopters, 10 engines, two water tenders and three bulldozers responded.

The Type-2 Team came on the scene Thursday morning at 6 a.m. and has taken the lead, Russell said.

Aside from two sheds, no structures have burned down and no one has been hurt, Russell said.

What sparked the fire to life is under investigation, but Russell and Bureau of Land Management Public Information Officer Jonathan Moor both said the heat and terrain certainly have not been any help in containing it.