BILLINGS (AP) -- Crews continued to fight a lighting-caused fire Tuesday that had burned nearly 5,000 acres on the Crow Indian Reservation, authorities said.
Another fire sparked by lightning on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge had grown to 450 acres north of Winnett, while a third fire near Ennis was close to being contained.
Red flag fire conditions -- a combination of hot weather, high winds and low humidity -- were predicted across most of the state through Tuesday night, the National Weather Service said.
On the Crow Reservation, the Big Horn fire had burned more than 4,560 acres of dry timber and tall grasses as of late Monday night and had no containment, National Interagency Fire Center spokeswoman Jennifer Smith said.
Winds had earlier posed a problem for firefighters by moving the fire into more timbered areas, but no structures were immediately threatened, she said.
A specialized team was expected to take over managing the fire Tuesday morning. Pat McKelvey, a fire information officer with the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team, said as many as 200 firefighters would be involved in the blaze over the next few days.
Two single-engine airplanes, four fire engines, a water tender, a grader and two bulldozers were among the equipment already on the reservation. Authorities also requested at least two helicopters.
No injuries were reported Monday night and officials said evacuations would be unlikely.
The McArthur fire was reported at 450 acres Tuesday in the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, fire management officer Mike Granger said. It was about 5 acres when crews first arrived Monday, but blew up to 250 acres within 90 minutes.
Crews burned out areas around the fire Monday night to get rid of dry fuels in anticipation of strong winds forecast for Tuesday, Granger said.
''They're already starting to blow,'' he said. ''If we can hold it today it will be good. I'm not giving any predictions on that one though.''
Two crews, a helicopter and several engines were fighting the fire, which was 20 percent contained, Granger said.
Southwest of Ennis, crews continued to mop up the 125-acre Johnny Ridge fire, which was sparked by lightning on Saturday. Full containment was estimated by Thursday night, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest spokesman Jack de Golia said.
The fire, he said, was a bit unusual in that ground vegetation was green and wet enough that it didn't burn readily. But it got into the upper branches of trees, creating a crown fire that spread through the treetops, often leaving the ground vegetation untouched.
About 130 firefighters were battling the blaze, along with three fire engines and a helicopter.
The fire was burning trees and grass above 8,500 feet in the Gravelly Range. No buildings were threatened and no one had been injured, but areas around the fire were temporarily closed for public safety reasons, de Golia said.
