A late-season wildfire, fueled by high winds, swept through a small central Montana town overnight burning multiple homes and grain lifts that had been standing for more than a century, authorities said.
Officials surveyed Damage in Denton Thursday morning as crews continued to battle the fire, which burnt 56 square miles of prairie and agricultural land.
Around 300 residents in the town were evacuated early Wednesday afternoon when a fire triggered by a downed power line in a neighboring county went through the drought-ridden country the night before.
“Unfortunately,” the Fergus County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook Wednesday night,”Unfortunately we lost numerous houses on the Southside of town, but thankfully no one was hurt!”
Further fires have flared in Montana in recent days as gusty winds fanned the flames amid drought and unusually warm temperatures throughout the state.
Other fires burning in Montana on Wednesday included one south of Great Falls involving eleven houses and seven garages, as well as sheds and vehicle.
About 65 people have been evacuated, authorities in Cascade County said.
There have been two grass fires near Browning, including power outages, because winds struck trees and hurled power lines into high ground, authorities said.
