BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press Writer
WEST GLACIER, Mont. (AP) _ Thick forests and steep terrain made fighting a 17,100-acre wildfire near Glacier National Park difficult, and fire officials feared a weather forecast that included strong wind gusts would further hamper their efforts.
The blaze burning just two miles from Montana's crown jewel was considered 5 percent contained late Thursday, but still threatened about a dozen homes and other structures.
Several campgrounds and some backcountry trails remained closed as a precaution.
A front, with the potential for strong, shifting wind, was forecast to move through the area Friday.
``We're just praying for rain,'' fire information officer Bob McKinney said.
Displaced residents were allowed back into their homes to gather belongings but not to stay, county officials said. The homes are in a sparsely populated area.
``We've got a few scratch lines around the tiger, but the tiger's still a tiger,'' McKinney said about the blaze that was started Aug. 14 by lightning.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported that there were 23 major fires burning Thursday on more than 226,000 acres across the West.
In Northern California, a fire near Weaverville was 75 percent contained Thursday after forcing nearly 3,000 people to evacuate and burning at least nine homes.
Also Thursday, prosecutors charged a second man with murder in the deaths of two firefighting pilots, accusing him of starting the blaze while trying to manufacture methamphetamine.
Richard Mortensen, 43, faces two counts of murder, as well as other counts for allegedly manufacturing drugs and causing the 270-acre brush fire the two pilots were fighting when their planes collided.
A day earlier, prosecutors filed the same charges against Frank Brady, 50.
