From the Monday, July 31, 2006 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Flames reached as high as 200 feet as an eastern Glacier National Park forest fire covered at least 35 square miles Sunday.
The fire burned at least 22,200 acres by Sunday, and was expected to cover more by the time that next estimate would be calculated today, said Shannon Downey, a spokeswoman for a inter-agency team battling the flames. The fire was estimated at 8,600 acres at least 13 square miles late Saturday.
The Red Eagle fire fueled by extremely dry timber has been fanned by winds of 15 to 20 mph from the southwest. The winds are expected to shift to be coming from the northeast with gusts up to 50 mph.
The fire jumped U.S. 89 south of St. Mary. Bulldozers are carving out lines to stop that eastward spread, Downey said. U.S. 89 is closed from Duck Lane Road near Babb in the north to Star School Road in the south.
St. Mary was evacuated Saturday. The Cut Bank Campground in the national park was evacuated Sunday with the areas trails closed to the public. No numbers were available on how many people had to leave the their homes and campsites.
The cause of the fire that began Friday afternoon near Red Eagle Mountain is unknown.
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Posted by nfpa at July 31, 2006 01:17 PM