Progress reported as Blackfeet Nation battles two big wildfires

Thursday, January 5, 2012  

The Blackfeet Nation of Montana declared a state of emergency on Wednesday in response to two large wildfires on the reservation.

Fanned by strong winds, the fires have burned over 10,000 acres. But crews appeared to be gaining control thanks to rain and a lot of help from volunteers.

“If not for their help, there is no way we could be this far because of the wind,” Bruce Running Crane, an investigator with the tribe's wild land fire department, told The Great Falls Tribune.

Nearly 100 people have been forced to evacuate, including 73 children from the the Blackfeet Boarding dormitory.

Get the Story:
Crews gaining the upper hand on Browning-area fires (The Great Falls Tribune 1/5)
Browning aglow with multiple grassfires (The Great Falls Tribune 1/5)
2 major fires burn buildings, char 16,000 acres on Blackfeet Indian Reservation (AP 1/5)
Fires continue raging in Browning (KRTV 1/4)
Blackfeet Tribe Declares State of Emergency: Two Major Fires Cause Evacuations and Highway Closures in Browning Area (KFBB 1/4)