A highway near Glacier National Park in northwest Montana was reopened Sunday, just a half-mile (800 meters) from a wind-whipped wildfire, but a nearby lodge threatened by the flames remained evacuated, according to AP. Authorities escorted traffic on U.S. 2 through the area along the southern edge of the park. Fire managers warned that it could be closed again if the blaze flared up like it did Saturday, when wind kicked it across control lines. A 24-mile (39-kilometer) stretch of the highway was closed Saturday. «We're expecting more of the same weather (Sunday) that crews had Saturday when they had problems,» said Dale Warriner, fire information officer. «We are hitting a couple hot spots on the south side with some helicopters, trying to keep it from moving to the south,» Warriner said. Guests and 18 employees at Summit Station Lodge along the highway remained evacuated as flames were within a mile (1.6 kilometers) of the facility, owner Jorge Simental said. The number of guests was not immediately available. Fire crews were protecting the lodge and tearing down some trees that were close to cabins, Simental said. The blaze remained active overnight and was growing toward the northeast, but no other structures were threatened, Warriner said. On Saturday, it grew rapidly from 420 acres (170 hectares) to about 1,000 acres (400 hectares), or about 1.5 square miles (4 square kilometers), he said. A fire north of Helena in central Montana was keeping people away from recreation areas and homes. The blaze, which had charred nearly 10 square miles (26 square kilometers), was 15 percent contained with «extremely significant» fire conditions expected Sunday, fire managers said. Near-record temperatures and gusty wind were forecast. Elsewhere, officials said a huge, 1,030-square-mile (2,668-square-kilometer) fire in southern Idaho and northern Nevada could be contained Sunday. «The rain really helped us the other day, which helped bring up that containment,» said fire information officer Pam Bierce. «There are still some hot spots we're working on.» The lightning-sparked fire was about 80 percent contained, Bierce said Saturday. A nearly month-old wildfire in Southern California's Santa Barbara County expanded for the first time in several days Saturday, growing by more than 200 acres (80 hectares). It had held steady at about 48 square miles (124 square kilometers) since earlier in the week. It was 80 percent contained and was expected to be fully surrounded by Friday, officials said.
