BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press Writer
WEST GLACIER, Mont. (AP) -- Firefighters and homeowners prepared for the worst on Monday as forecasts of winds up to 65 mph threatened to fan a 48,000-acre wildfire in Glacier National Park.
``We've got a real interesting day ahead of us,'' Jeff Whitney, a deputy incident commander, said as crews continued battling the blaze.
Favorable weather over the weekend helped more than 1,000 firefighters gain some ground on the blaze. Although still considered only 5 percent contained, officials said northeast winds pushed flames away from buildings and homes along Lake McDonald that had been in danger.
But Monday morning, the National Weather Service issued high-wind warnings for the area, forecasting gusts of up to 65 mph.
``It looks bad and it's going to get worse,'' fire information officer Joe Hart said.
The lightning-sparked blaze began Aug. 16 near Whitefish. It doubled in size Friday and spread across the western border of Glacier National Park. It pushed east toward Lake McDonald, home to a number of park lodges, campgrounds and private properties.
Firefighters spent much of the Labor Day weekend helping area homeowners clear brush and other debris from their property.
Crews working around the north end of Lake McDonald also planned to set up water pumps, hoses and sprinklers to protect cabins along the lake.
Whitney estimated about 80 buildings around the lake, many of them in densely wooded areas, remained threatened by the fire.
Firefighters were gaining the upper hand on two other fires north of Yellowstone National Park in south-central Montana.
At one of the fires, between the park and the town of Livingston, crews used explosives to blast 1,500 feet of containment lines in the most-rugged terrain. The 26,500-acre fire was considered 45 percent contained Monday.
South of Livingston, off-duty firefighters held a brief memorial service honoring three men who died Friday when their helicopter crashed north of Yellowstone National Park.
An 807-acre fire near Yellowstone's north entrance was expected to be contained by Monday evening.
At least 18 major fires still active Monday had burned about 150,000 acres in other Western states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. The center said crews were close to containing most of the largest fires.
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