Two major fires are threatening southeast Montana.
The Barber Draw fire started on Wednesday near the Tongue River Reservoir and has grown to 8,000 acres.
The Remington fire began in Wyoming but crossed into Montana on Thursday evening. By Friday afternoon, it had burned 128,771 acres. Pre-evacuation orders are still in place for the area south of Ashland to the Rosebud County Line.
The fire has spread across three counties: Powder River, Big Horn, and southern Rosebud.
Keith Gerber, operations chief with Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, said they were originally focused on the Barber Draw fire, but the Remington fire quickly became the priority.
“We have about 120 resources at the Barber Draw fire, including smoke jumpers, contract engines, hand crews, and dozers,” said Gerber. “We’re setting up camp to support both the Barber Draw fire and possibly assist with the Remington fire.”
The fire was caused by lightning from recent storms.
“Recent storms have brought a lot of lightning with rain,” Gerber explained.
As the fire grows, hot temperatures and high winds expected on Saturday could make things worse.
“This fire is big and won’t be put out quickly. We need to get people on the ground to control it,” said Gerber.
The fires have also affected businesses in the area, like the Tongue River Reservoir Marina. This is the third time this summer they’ve had to evacuate.
“Evacuations hurt our business, especially our boat rentals. We’ve lost a lot of sales because the boat ramp is closed,” said Ryan Bogers, the marina’s owner.
With just 10 days left in their season, they were hoping to reopen on Friday, but the growing Remington fire made that impossible.
“It’s concerning, especially seeing burnt areas along the highway,” Bogers said.
Bogers even helped the fire crews on Thursday, providing assistance as they camped along the reservoir and used aircraft to pull water from the river.
“We’re doing what we can to support the fire crews,” Bogers added.
Fire season has been tough, and with the fire continuing to spread, the future remains uncertain.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” said Bogers.
Additional reporting by Mack Carmack.