Southeast Montana town evacuated as wildfire closes in

BILLINGS (AP) — A small town in southeastern Montana was ordered evacuated Tuesday as strong winds drove the state's largest wildfire dangerously close to the community bordering the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, officials said.

Roughly 500 to 600 people living in Ashland and the surrounding area were ordered to leave, Rosebud County Sheriff Allen Fulton said.

By afternoon, flames were within about a quarter mile of an Amish community along the Tongue River north of town, after strong winds pushed the blaze several miles over a period of a few hours, Fulton said. Many people in the evacuation zone left, but others stayed.

"We're actually pretty worried," Fulton said. "It's jumping highways, it's jumping streams. A paved road is about a good a fire line as we could ask for, and it's going over that in spots."

The fire began Sunday because of an undetermined cause on private land in the Richard Spring area about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southwest of Colstrip. It had burned up to 250 square miles (647 square kilometers) by Tuesday evening, officials said, making it Montana's largest wildfire so far this year.

At the Otter Creek Saloon in Ashland, owner J.D. Just said he could see columns of smoke rising from the fire, still about six miles away from town by early evening but moving directly toward it.

Businesses were shut down and most people heeded the evacuation order, including residents from the Heritage Living Center, an assisted living facility for elders from the Northern Cheyenne tribe, Just said.

Just planned to stay to see what happens and protect his bar.

"I'm not going to let my place burn down," he said.

Four helicopters, six bulldozers and six fire engines were being used to battle the fire, with about 130 personnel. Local landowners and private heavy equipment operators also helped, officials said.

Besides Ashland, the evacuation order covered the Northern Cheyenne community of Rabbit Town, the Amish subdivision, the St. Labre Indian School and people living along North Tongue River Road.

Staff at the St. Labre campus closed up their work areas and were told to go home and get what they needed to evacuate, said Ashley Peterson, who works for an answering service for the school. The school's approximately 450 students are scheduled to resume classes next week.

"They've asked us to pray for the little community of Ashland and St. Labre," Peterson said.

Four outbuildings were destroyed during the initial efforts to fight it.

Shelters for evacuees were being set up in the nearby towns of Lame Deer and Broadus. But on Tuesday evening, authorities ordered the evacuation of Lame Deer, which is inside the North Cheyenne reservation and has a population of about 2,000.

Ashland is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of the Montana-Wyoming border.

Two dozen large wildfires were burning across Montana Tuesday, as hot, dry conditions made it harder to fight the blazes and prevent new ones from taking hold. So far this year wildfires have destroyed 48 houses and burned 975 square miles (2525 square kilometers).

A red flag warning for high fire danger was in effect through 10 p.m. Wednesday.