Local firefighters respond to Denton fire, Highway 2 reopened near Browning

Local firefighters are helping with a major fall fire east of Great Falls, including mutual aid provided by the Havre Fire Department and Chinook Volunteer Fire Department.

Fires driven by high winds have destroyed homes south of Great Falls and forced the evacuation of Denton, where the fire burned structures although no serious injuries or deaths have been reported, while fires near Browning shut down U.S. Highway 2 for a time Wednesday morning and the fire, high winds and loss of electricity shut down the schools Wednesday.

Browning Superintendent Corrina Guardipee said in a Facebook post this morning that school was back in session this morning with all buses running.

“We want to thank all our first responders for all that they do,” Guardipee posted.

Havre Fire Chief Mel Paulson said this morning that his department dispatched Wednesday at 3 p.m. an urban interface fire truck designed to fight both grass and structure fires and two firefighters to Denton specifically to provide structure fires. Paulson said the firefighters are working to put out hot spots this morning before winds are expected to pick up again this afternoon.

And Chinook Volunteer Fire Department said in a post Wednesday it responded with a brush truck to provide aid at the Denton fire.

The Fergus County Sheriff’s Office made a Facebook post about the fire burning Denton, the West Wind Fire that started in northeastern Judith Basin County near the Fergus County border, The post said the fire quickly burnt into Fergus County, into Denton, burning 25 structures including grain elevators and bridges.

The post said rural fire agencies are working to prevent further damage and spread. The efforts are expected to continue for several days.

The post said the sheriff’s office expects to release Denton and the surrounding area from evacuation status by noon today.

“We encourage the community to not let its guard down, as we expect high winds again today,” the post said.

The sheriff’s office is allowing only essential traffic into the area because responders are still actively fighting the fire.

“We would like to stress that when we open this back up to the community that it is essential people only and to be sure and not hinder the firefighters doing their job,” the post said.

The south side of Highway 81 in Denton still was without power as of 9 this morning, the post said.

“At this time, (Fergus County Sheriff Rick) Vaughn would like to stress the fact that there was no serious injuries or loss of life during this unprecedented event,” the post said. “We can replace property but we cannot replace a life. Sheriff Vaughn would like to thank the community and emergency services from across Montana for doing what Montanans do when their neighbors are having a bad day. Montanans step up and lend a hand and get the job done.”

National Weather Service has a high winds warning in effect today and a Red Flag fire warning due to high winds, dry conditions and low humidity for a region on the northern Rocky Mountain Front extending to Liberty County.

U.S. Highway 2 east of Browning was listed as open this morning, although Montana Highway 81 from Montana Highway 80 to Denton was closed.

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Havre Daily News reporter Pam Burke contributed to this report.