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Montana tourist town on edge as wildfire advances; blazes burn in California, Michigan

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BILLINGS, Mont. — More than 300 homes were evacuated as a wildfire destroyed two houses and cut off the main entrance to a Billings subdivision, officials said Monday.

At some of the surviving homes, firefighters were battling flames "right up to the back door," said William Rash, chief of the Lockwood Fire Department.

Resident Kelsey Ebinger said she and her brother drove out in a convoy of about 60 cars as the 1,000-acre fire, reported on Sunday, spread.

"People were getting so panicked, they were going 60 mph, but there was no way you could outrun it," said Ebinger, 19.

Gusty winds and low humidity helped spread flames elsewhere in western Montana, prompting more evacuations near several blazes, including one near Seeley Lake that had destroyed one house and damaged several others. Firefighters were pulled off the blaze after it jumped control lines and grew to 31,520 acres, or 49 square miles. It was 25 percent contained on Monday.

Southeast of Missoula, Granite County authorities evacuated 213 cabins and homes in the path of a complex of fires that had charred at least 44,000 acres, or 69 square miles, in three national forests.

Dozens of ranch properties in California were put on alert Monday as the third-largest wildfire in modern state history raged through Los Padres National Forest backcountry. The blaze had blackened 214,725 acres, or 336 square miles, since starting on July 4. It was 75 percent contained.

The firefighters, more than 3,000 strong, faced rugged terrain, temperatures in the 90s and extremely low humidity in an area that hadn't burned in 75 to 100 years, fire officials said.

"The fuel conditions are extreme. The chaparral we're working with is practically explosive," said incident commander Mike Dietrich of the U.S. Forest Service.

As a precaution, residents of 30 to 40 ranches off state Highway 33 in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties were advised to move large animals out of the area and be prepared to get out. A 45-mile stretch of the highway was closed.

Elsewhere, a 17-square-mile fire in Idaho was within a mile of about 100 summer cottages and million-dollar homes Monday near the resort town of Ketchum. Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter ordered residents of the homes to evacuate Sunday, and many of them had complied, fire spokesman Dave Olson said.

Residents of more than 200 other homes were encouraged to leave voluntarily.