A group of Hill County volunteer firefighters battled a 200-acre grassfire for nearly five hours before putting it out early Sunday morning.
Firefightersgheter with the Bear Paw, Kremlin and Box Elder volunteer fire departments responded Saturday at about 10:30 p.m. to the lightning-caused fire off Route 5000, said Bear Paw volunteer firefighter Jeremy McKellar on Sunday. Landowners also joined the effort in battling the blaze.
The fire danger indicator on Laredo Road was on high Sunday. On Friday, Stage 1 fire restrictions had been implemented in Hill and Blaine counties, and on Rocky Boy Indian’s Reservation.
Lightning ignited the fire, the dry fuels helped spread it, and the wind added a third degree of difficulty.
“The wind helped get it going pretty good,” McKellar said.
By 3 a.m. Sunday the fire was 100 percent contained, McKellar said. By Sunday afternoon, the only sign that the fire ever existed was the scorched prairie field.
None of the outbuildings and residential homes threatened were touched, McKellar said. No one was hurt in the effort either.
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