A 10-acre fire northeast of Lincoln led to some evacuations while crews began gaining the upper hand on a larger fire burning between Hamilton and Darby, fire officials said.
The Elk Trail Loop fire burned some outbuildings near cabins Monday, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton tells the Independent Record. Residents of about a dozen cabins evacuated, Dutton said.
The fire, which was reported at about 2 p.m. Monday, began in the area where the road entered a small subdivision. The cause is under investigation.
Meanwhile, a lack of major fires in the northwest gave Observation fire managers the luxury of not competing for crews as they try to contain the 2.2-square mile fire in the Bitterroot Valley. It was 20 percent contained Tuesday morning.
There are nearly 600 people on the fire, along with nine helicopters and support from retardant bombers based in Missoula, she said.
Crews rappelled from helicopters into a rugged area on the eastern side of the fire Monday and cleared trees to create a spike camp, a safety zone and a spot to land helicopters, fire information officer Anne Rys-Sikora said. Hotshot crews were going to use the camp as a base to begin working the western side of the fire on Tuesday.
“We have a lot of unburned fuel mixed in with burned fuel, which makes it really messy,” Rys-Sikora said.
Fire mangers are expecting less wind Tuesday and rain later in the week, which may ease the concerns of Darby-area residents who have been warned to be prepared to evacuate. The fire was caused by lightning on June 24.