Update Cool weather

CANYON CREEK (AP) — Cooler weather with some rain helped firefighters in Montana make good progress Sunday on a pair of fires that had forced evacuations over the past few days, fire officials said.

"We've had a really good day working in conjunction with Mother Nature," said Terina Mullen, spokeswoman at the Downing Mountain fire burning about three miles west of Hamilton.

"I don't expect the fire to increase at all today," she told The Associated Press on Sunday. "There's very little fire growth. We do have a few interior hot spots that are still smoldering."

The fire is listed at about 300 acres, or half a square mile, and is about 30 percent contained.

Mullen said no injuries have been reported and no structures have been lost. She said fire crews protecting buildings in the area will likely soon be released but would remain available to return if needed.

Mullen said the fire is burning mostly in Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir in the Bitteroot National Forest, but also on some private forest land that is included in firefighting activities.

At the Davis fire near Helena, spokeswoman Heather O'Hanlon said crews are solidifying the perimeter and mopping up hotspots within. The fire on Sunday was about 2,100 acres, or 3.25 square miles, and was about 15 percent contained.

"We're certainly using the weather to our advantage," she said. "(Firefighters) are really getting a good handle on the fire when they have the weather with them."

The fire has destroyed several abandoned mine buildings, but O'Hanlon said it's unclear if the structures had any kind of historical significance.

The Davis fire is burning mostly in subalpine fir and lodgepole pine.