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Dugan Fire in SE Montana burns 10K+ acres

Posted: Sep 17, 2012 6:43 AM by MTN News
Updated: Sep 17, 2012 12:38 PM

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EKALAKA, MT- The Dugan Fire, burning two miles south of Ekalaka in eastern Montana, has put homes at risk and has caused closures of several roads in the Custer National Forest.

The fire started late Friday night and latest GPS reports show the fire may be as large as 10,500 acres in size. The fire is burning mostly in the Custer National Forest, but has also spread to private lands.

There are 200 crew members working on the fire, and more resources include three helicopters, 25 fire engines, and other firefighting related vehicles.

Fire bosses say there are primary residences bordering the forest which remain at risk, as well as two radio towers, the Ekalaka Park Campground, and Camp Needmore.

Throughout the weekend, crews conducted large burnout operations and created fire lines. On Sunday, crews worked to cool down hot sports and were on alert for new fire starts.

The U.S. Forest Service has announced several closures of lands bordered by roadways in the national forest while crews continue to fight the fire.

The Chalk Buttes Highway (on the west and north side of the fire), the Pershing Cutoff Road (south side), and portions of Highway 323 (east) and all lands within those perimeters have all been closed.

There have been no injuries reported due to this fire, however officials say that some outbuildings have been damaged by the blaze.

(photo courtesy: Lynnette Wolff)

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