GREAT FALLS — A wind-driven fire on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation threatened livestock and homes before being nearly contained.
The Great Falls Tribune reports that the fire consumed about 3 square miles of land and 400 tons of hay at one ranch on Wednesday night, but was 95 percent contained by Thursday morning.
Fire officials say the blaze began about eight miles east of the community of Fort Belknap on Wednesday and burned pastureland, alfalfa and Conservation Reserve Program fields.
Acting fire management officer Byard Lamebull says no livestock or homes were damaged.
He says the cause of the fire is under investigation, but it was likely human-caused because there was no lightning reported in the area when the fire started.