2,000-acre fire near Big Sandy is out

A 2,000-acre grass and brush fire about 10 miles from Big Sandy is mostly out with no injuries and no structures burnt after sending plumes of smoke up into the air Thursday afternoon.

The Chouteau County Sheriff's Office reported that the fire began around 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the Judith Landing area and was largely out by 7 p.m. thanks to the efforts of the Big Sandy Volunteer Fire Department along with the Loma Rural Volunteer Fire Department and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which all fought the fire.

Big Sandy and Loma fire fighters have been sent home but DNRC is still on scene to make sure the fire doesn't start back up again.

Local farmers helped supply water to the firefighters that afternoon as well, the sheriff's office reported.

The fire appears to have been started accidentally by a horse trailer that lost a wheel bearing.

The 2,000 acres affected were all grazing land, and no humans or livestock were injured by the fire.