ASHLAND, Mont. – In southeastern Montana, communities in and around the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation were ordered to evacuate as the uncontrolled Richard Spring Fire grew amid erratic winds.
The order included Lame Deer, where people who fled the fire early Tuesday had sought shelter, only to be displaced again that night when the fire got within several miles. The town of about 2,000 people is home to the tribal headquarters and several subdivisions is surrounded by rugged, forested terrain.
Also ordered to leave were about 600 people in around Ashland, a small town just outside the reservation with a knot of businesses along its main street and surrounded by grasslands and patchy forest.
No homes were reported lost, Rosebud County Sheriff Allen Fulton said. Two homes caught fire Tuesday but were saved, including one near Lame Deer. Sheriff’s deputies used fire extinguishers on the flames and a passing fire helicopter dropped a bucket of water to put it out, Fulton said.
Heavy winds were forecast to return Wednesday, and authorities were concerned that the fire would again advance toward Ashland and Lame Deer.
The flames came right up to a subdivision outside Ashland along the Tongue River and were within several miles of the town by Wednesday morning.
Powerful gusts Tuesday caused the blaze to explode across more than 230 square miles, or 149,453 acres as the fire jumped roads, creeks and fire lines created in an attempt to prevent it from growing.
Inciweb lists the fire as 15-percent as of Wednesday noon.
