Wildfires in Montana and northern California threaten tourists and homes
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Version 0 of 1. Firefighters braced on Thursday for a fresh run by a wildfire that sent tourists fleeing from hotels and campgrounds in Montana’s Glacier national park, while a blaze threatening hundreds of homes in northern California shot flames 100 ft (30 metres) in the air. Both states are ravaged by drought, and rising temperatures and strengthening winds greeted newly arrived crews taking aim at the blaze in the Northern Rocky Mountains. It has burned more than 6 sq m (15.6 sq km) along the eastern side of the Montana park during prime tourist season, when lodges and inns have been booked for months. Related: Los Angeles wildfire subsides as firefighters helped by rare summer rain Some visitors packed up and left the region immediately after seeing smoke rising above ridge tops, while others diverted to different parts of the park. Officials said only a small part of Glacier’s 1,718 sq m (4,450 sq km) have been closed by the fire, and most of its top attractions on the east and west sides are still open. The fire ignited on Tuesday and then swept along ridges near the scenic Going-to-the-Sun road, the park’s most popular roadway, heading toward the small community of St. Mary on the park’s eastern boundary. More than 600 campers who fled the St. Mary glacier park KOA on Wednesday have been replaced by officials using the campgrounds as a staging area to fight the fire just over a ridge a few miles away. The fire destroyed Baring Creek Cabin, a historic backcountry structure, torched one abandoned car and closed 21 miles (35 km) of the 50-mile (80-km Going-to-the-Sun road. Nearly 700,000 people visited the park in July last year, and about 95% of them traveled some length of the roadway. Related: 'We prayed to God': California wildfire sweeps freeway, destroying vehicles No new evacuations have been ordered in the park on Thursday. Meanwhile, the California fire threatened 200 homes and ranches outside the Napa Valley. It had spread to more than 10.5 sq m (27 sq km) on Thursday, and black smoke could be seen as far away as San Francisco and Sacramento. More than 520 firefighters battled the wildfire, struggling to access the blaze through rugged, brush-choked terrain about 45 minutes east of the popular wine country. No wineries were at risk, said Capt. Amy Head of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. |