A large wildfire continues burning east of Browning, and is now said to be about 90% contained.
The fire was reported at about 3:30 a.m.
The fire has burned an estimated 450 acres and covered nearly seven miles.
Extremely powerful winds have been fueling the flames, and tipped over at least one semi truck in the area.
As of 11:30 a.m., evacuation orders have been lifted, and US Highway 2 has re-opened.
From the Glacier County Sheriff's Office: "US 2 between Cut Bank and Browning is open. There is still intermittent smoke causing low visibility as you pass through the Blackfoot area. Please proceed slowly with caution as you travel by this incident."
Responding agencies include East Glacier, Babb, Shelby, Cut Bank, Valier, and others. In addition, nearly Hutterite colonies helped bring water to the firefighters.
At least 75 personnel have been involved in fighting the fire.
There have been no reports of injuries, and no reports of any damaged structure at this point.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
(1st REPORT, 7:56 a.m.) A large wildland fire is burning near Browning. At this point, there are no reports of damaged structures, and no injuries have been reported.
From the Glacier County Sheriff's Office: "There are strong winds fueling a large fire west of Blackfoot near US Highway 2. We have the Highway shut down between the “Y” and Blackfoot. Please alter your travel plans if they include that route."
From Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services: "US2 East from Browning to Meriweather is shut down per Department of Transportation. Please use an alternate route and stay off the roads. Vehicles on the road are making it harder for emergency personnel to do their jobs."
From Blackfeet Incident Command: "All Tribal Offices will be closed today due to severe winds. Also, there is a fire burning east of Browning and all residents are being evacuated to the Browning Middle School. Please contact KWebb Galbreath for any questions or concerns (406) 317-3040."
From Glacier County DES: "Browning Middle School being set up for Evacuees from Fire."
From Glacier Electric Cooperative: "We are aware of the outages affecting parts of East Glacier, Babb, St.Mary, Little Badger, and parts of Browning. We are working on all the outages at this time and have crews on site. There will be an extended outage up to 5 hours for areas closest to the fire in Blackfoot. This includes surrounding areas of Blackfoot, South of Viaduct to North of Heart Butte, Dog Gun Lake, Little Badger, and Old Agency."
