Wildfires continue to burn in Elkhorn, Little Belt mountains

There is one Type 2 initial attack crew, one hotshot crew and one Type 3 helicopter working the fire. On Sunday, firefighters established a handline around spots that saw flare-ups on Saturday, and crews set up a sling site at Leslie Lake to support air operations. A saw line was also constructed around the entire fire’s perimeter.

Firefighters are continuing with a direct extinguishment strategy and looking for hot spots to extinguish, using hose laid from Leslie Lake up to the fire’s perimeter, fire officials said. The fire is burning in snags and dead timber on steep and rocky terrain, which the Forest Service said continues to be a “serious hazard” for firefighters.

U.S. Forest Service Road 8578 is closed and there is no access to Leslie Lake currently. Crews are asking people to avoid all roads and trails between Elkhorn and Leslie Lake. There is also a temporary flight restriction in place, which includes drones, within a 7-mile radius of the fire.

Cooler temperatures and minimal wind activity in the area Monday and Tuesday are expected to provide better firefighting conditions than in days’ past.

Farther east in the Little Belts, the Ant Park fire was an estimated 700 acres in size as of Monday morning and also 0% contained. The fire is burning about 7 miles southeast of Showdown Mountain Ski area and 15 miles northeast of White Sulphur Springs.

Fire activity was kept to a minimum on Sunday due to higher relative humidity and light winds, fire officials said, but there remains some spotting toward the northeast of the fire that crews have been actively engaging.

There are three heavy equipment modules, one engine module, three helicopters and three hand crews assigned to the fire.

The fire’s western flank is burning in the burn scar of the 2003 Ant Park fire, which is helping slow the spread there. Dozer and hand crews have been building lines there and reducing latter fuels to keep the fire from spotting.

On Monday, crews worked to improve access to the eastern flank and hotshot crews worked on lines ahead of the north and northwest parts of the perimeter. Heavy equipment has been working on lines on the southern part of the fire.

There remain closures on Forest Service Road 6464 near Higgins Park and on Forest Roads 837 and 487.