Montana Wildfires

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Montana Wildfires

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Beleaguered firefighters in Montana enjoyed something of a lull in their battle against dozens of wildfires, but a new blaze near Yellowstone National Park forced the evacuation of up to 150 homes.

And a firestorm in a remote Idaho forest destroyed most of the buildings at a guest ranch, and another guest ranch was ordered evacuated.

There were concerns the entire town of Red Lodge, a resort community near Yellowstone in south-central Montana, might have to be evacuated in the face of the blaze. Wind was expected to gust to 30 mph during the night.

``We're constantly reevaluating whether there will be a need to evacuate the town,'' population 1,875, a Forest Service official said Sunday.

Near the town, 100 to 150 homes were evacuated, fire officials said Monday. The blaze had covered 3,000 acres by Monday morning.

No other major flare-ups were reported Sunday in the state, where more than 10,000 firefighters worked to combat 23 wildfires that have consumed some 670,000 acres.

``Everything stayed about the same,'' said Dan...

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