Dahl Fire north of Billings erupts to 18,700 acres, dozens of homes destroyed

Posted: Jun 26, 2012 10:06 PM by Q2 News
Updated: Jun 27, 2012 8:08 AM

Officials with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation confirm, early reports from the field say at least 60 homes have been destroyed in the Dahl Fire burning south of Roundup.

ROUNDUP - The Dahl Fire south of Roundup made a12 mile run to the east, grew to 10,000 acres, jumped Highway 87 and has burned numerous homes in its path on Tuesday night.

Hundreds of people and the Signal Peak coal mine near Roundup have been evacuated.

The blaze is now burning one mile east of Highway 87, which has been closed down to all traffic.

Crews are focusing on structure protection efforts on homes and the Signal Peak Mine, about one mile from where the flames are burning.

"The goal right now is to keep everyone out of the line of this fire," says Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Information Officer Paula Short. "The conditions are explosive."

First Reports Below - Highway 87 north of Billings is now closed at mile marker 29 due to the Dahl Wildfire - burning southwest of Roundup.

Between 95 and 150 homes in the Goulding Creek Road area have been evacuated. The fire is burning in the Harper Coulee area and has reached the Buckskin Road area about three miles from Highway 87.

Strong winds are fanning the flames. The fire is moving quickly and has grown to nearly 4,000 acres.

ROUNDUP - Musselshell County officials are evacuating more than 100 homes in the area of the Goulding Creek Road south of Roundup.

Strong gusty winds are fanning the flames which are moving quickly and have already blackened as much as 4,000 thousand acres.

Mutual aid has been requested, and all available fire fighting equipment has been called to the area.

The fire is burning in the Harper Coulee area, and sparked around 3pm.

More details once they become available.

BILLINGS - Emergency crews are responding to a large wildfire that has sparked north of Billings near mile marker 25, along Highway 87.

One witness tells Q2 News the fire is burning near Harper's Coulee.

Broadview Fire has requested mutal aid from nearby fire departments.

All available equipment is being asked to respond to the area.

Q2 News has a crew on the way to the scene. More details as soon as it's available.