Montana faces new wildlife threat

POLEBRIDGE, Mont. -- Cooler weather helped firefighters Sunday as they tried to rein in a wildfire that jumped the main defense line in extreme northwestern Montana.

After days of showing little movement, the 25,000-acre fire broke loose Saturday night, throwing embers across a road to burn an additional 400 to 500 acres, said fire information officer Marty O'Toole.

O'Toole said fire managers contacted Canadian officials because in a worst-case scenario, the fire could quickly burn more forest now that it has gotten past Trail Creek Road, about five miles from the border.

More than 1,200 firefighters were already protecting some 100 residences on the remote, heavily forested area along and just inside the western edge of Glacier National Park. No buildings were destroyed in the weekend advance, but the fire already had burned 36 buildings, including seven homes.

Officials asked residents several days ago to evacuate the area all the way to the Canada. Canadian firefighters have bulldozed a defense line just north of the border.

The fire slowed Sunday under clouds and some light rain.

"They think they can make some pretty good progress if conditions hold," fire information officer Terry Gregg said.

Residents return

Thirty miles to the south, residents and business operators began returning to the town of West Glacier on Sunday morning after an evacuation order was lifted.

On Friday, more than 1,000 firefighters blocked a wildfire that was advancing on the town and park headquarters. The fire, estimated at more than 24,000 acres Sunday, still could threaten residential areas because it could throw spot fires across the barrier, fire information officials said.

The lights were on again at the West Glacier Mercantile, but there was no crush of returning residents Sunday. Officials had said some people ignored the evacuation order, and others had filtered back as the fire threat eased.

Park Superintendent Mick Holm said he expected operations to return to normal around West Glacier, the main entrance to the park, in the next few days. He said headquarters personnel would return Monday.

The entire western side of the park, including park headquarters, has been closed since July 24, when fires burned into the park's western boundary and closed a key road inside the park.

The east side of the park remains open.

The Glacier fires were among about 25 major active blazes in the West on Sunday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, which said higher humidity and cooler temperatures were helping firefighters gain the upper hand in several areas.