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Montana among states battling wildfires

The Associated Press

With wildfires blazing across the west, another fire started in Montana while firefighters are still working to control a fire near Glacier National Park.

Authorities say firefighters expect to contain a grass fire that spread quickly outside of Browning.

Blackfeet Fire Management Officer Chris Trombley said the fire grew from 30 acres to more than 300 acres within an hour of it being called in Tuesday afternoon.

Trombley says the rapid spread was fueled by tall grass, low humidity and wind gusts. The wind later shifted and allowed firefighters to contain half of the blaze by midafternoon.

He says he expected to have the fire under control by Tuesday evening.

The fire is believed to be caused by workers cutting hay. It is on farmland about 5 miles north of Browning, and no buildings were threatened.

Seventy-seven firefighters and other personnel responded.

Meanwhile, firefighters are continuing to try to control and extinguish the Glacier Rim fire near the North Fork of the Flathead River.

And people returned to find their homes reduced to rubble following a destructive wildfire in Washington state, while crews battled blazes in California and Nevada.

Here's a look at hotspots around the West:

WASHINGTON

Just days after a wildfire near Wenatchee destroyed homes and forced evacuations, a new wild land blaze in Washington state is causing problems and prompting people to flee their homes.

Grant County officials said the blaze has forced some rural residents near Quincy to evacuate and it burned five structures late Tuesday and early today.

There was no immediate word on the size of the blaze, the number of evacuated homes, or what types of structures burned.

The blaze near Quincy erupted just days after a wildfire in the Wenatchee area destroyed homes and prompted evacuations.

By Tuesday evening, fire officials reported progress against the Wenatchee fire that has burned more than 4 square miles on the north side of the city, even as they cautioned that more hot, dry weather lies ahead for the July 4 holiday. The fire was 47 percent contained, up from 10 percent Tuesday morning, fire spokeswoman Kay McKellar said.

Vern Smith was among those in Wenatchee searching for something to salvage after a fast-moving wildfire destroyed two dozen houses and several businesses in the central Washington city.

Smith pointed to what had been his garage.

"You can't tell from here, but that's a brand new truck," he said, looking at the burned vehicle.

The fire, which began Sunday, was the worst so far this season as the state struggles with a severe drought. Mountain snowpack is extremely low, and about one-fifth of the state's rivers and streams are at record low levels.

Elsewhere in central Washington, a wildfire has burned across nearly 5 ½ square miles of sagebrush and grass south of the small town of Mansfield, about 40 miles northeast of Wenatchee. That fire was reported 50 percent contained by Tuesday night and no longer threatened any homes.

Also in Washington, authorities say multiple small brush fires that slowed southbound traffic on Interstate 5 north of Seattle were likely set by arsonists.

CALIFORNIA

Firefighters made progress against wildfires burning throughout California but weather was becoming a potential problem as a heat wave built in some regions and the threat of thunderstorms, gusty winds and lightning persisted elsewhere.

A 320-acre blaze that erupted outside the Santa Barbara County city of Lompoc on Monday and forced 1,200 people to flee was three-quarters contained and evacuations were lifted, fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni said Tuesday.

The fire broke out behind the Spanish colonial-era La Purisima Mission, but the structures in what is now a state historic park escaped damage. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

In the inland region east of Los Angeles, a 49-square-mile wildfire in the San Bernardino National Forest was 60 percent contained. Firefighters worked on hotspots, and some crews were being inserted into wilderness areas for three- or four-day stays to reduce travel time to and from fire lines.

NEVADA

In northern Nevada, crews battled a lightning-caused wildfire.

The Nevada Division of Forestry said Tuesday that a fire was burning sage and grass in a 7-square-mile area on private land north of Interstate 80, about half way between Battle Mountain and Elko.

There were no immediate threats to buildings or people.

 

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