By Alan Sorensen
Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy wildfire fire crews are battling blazes throughout Montana, right now, but none outside the state.
We have 14 crews out now, said dispatcher Annette Bigleggins of Fort Belknap Forestry this morning. Three 20-man crews, and three saw teams out, and two overhead IMS and some medical specialists.
The crews are spread across the state, from Livingston to the Bar Z ridge fire at Flathead.
We have one camp crew returning from White Sulphur Springs, the Spring Creek fire, Bigleggins said. And we sent a saw team to the Your Name fire at Greenough, towards Lincoln, almost towards Missoula.
Gerald Small of Rocky Boy Forestry said three of the Chippewa Cree Tribes five crews are out today.
We had two crews on the Spring Creek Fire in the Little Belt Mountains and they were released yesterday and reassigned. They were sent to two separate fires (near Missoula), including the Your Name fire.
We also sent two two-person saw crews there yesterday.
Rocky Boy also dispatched two private engines to the Swaney fire west of Whitefish yesterday.
And we dispatched a crew this morning to the Balsam fire by Wisdom, Small said.
Two Rocky Boy crews elected to stay home for powwow this weekend, partly because of the increased fire danger on the reservation and partly to enjoy the celebration.
The fire danger is going to be high, Small said.
