Montana: fire near Helena burns homes, forces evacuations

Corral fire, Helana, MT
Corral fire, a few miles northwest of the state Capitol building in Helena, Montana. Photo by Chris Denning

The Corral Fire just northwest of Helena, Montana has burned three homes and forced some residents to evacuate. Below is an excerpt from an article at helenair:

The Corral Fire in the Scratchgravel Hills continued to burn actively Tuesday morning, officials said. About 150 firefighters worked through the night on the fire from a variety of volunteer, federal, and state agencies.

“This fire has a lot of potential,” said John Huston, a fire manager with the state Department of Natural Resources. “There has been a good amount of fuel reduction work done in the area, but ground fuels are deep in places and the terrain is rough for engine access. Helicopters and hand crews are going to play a key role on Tuesday.”

Two DNRC helicopters were joined by two Montana Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopters in battling the blaze, which started late Monday afternoon.

Fire officials are concerned about an approaching cold front with possible 30 to 40 mph southwesterly winds, which could begin around noon Tuesday.

The Corral fire has grown to more than 700 acres; there have been no human or livestock casualties, but 3 homes and a couple of cars have burned. Smoke has been too thick to allow a more complete assessment of the damage.

Map of Corral fire at 1107 pm June 25, 2012
Map showing heat detected by satellites at 11:07 p.m. MT, June 25, 2012, on the Corral Fire. MODIS/Google

The video below is a 15-minute time-lapse of the fire:

More information about the fire can be found at Lewis & Clark County and InciWeb.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

3 thoughts on “Montana: fire near Helena burns homes, forces evacuations”

  1. A high school classmate of mine said his house burned down and the garage and RV was the only things standing in Roundup, MT, did the fire destroy a lot of homes there?

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    1. Sadly, the Dahl Fire near Roundup MT has destroyed 70 homes this past week.

      =(

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