Residents living at the end of Topanga Avenue in the Heights could see the fire and the response from the Billings Fire Department earlier this week.
Neighbors say fire trucks drove through the property, down a trail, and through a gate onto a rancher's land, possibly in a valley.
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James Winnick, who lives nearby on Largo Circle, was working in his yard when the fire started.
"My next door neighbor, he went over there, and tried to extinguish it out," Winnick said. "He wasn't having much luck, so by that time the fire department showed up."
Winnick says he does not know the cause but worries about people riding trail bikes through the fields — and he's not the only one.
Billings police posted on Facebook this week that trespassing and off-road vehicle complaints on private property have increased.
"We're asking the riders to respect the residents living near these properties," Chief Rich St. John stated in the post. "Illegal riding has real impacts on families and neighborhoods, and it needs to stop."
Some people in the neighborhood, who did not want to go on camera, said they are scared even when they are some distance from the fields.
"The smoke was black, and the flames were coming in," said Jeanne Winnick, James' wife. "They were getting a little bit higher but they got here."
They described the smoke as black and said the flames were growing before crews arrived.
Jeanne Winnick remains concerned after Monday's fire and is watching the weather forecast closely.
"We definitely don't want lightning strikes when we have the dry fuel on the ground," said Jason Stiff, Q2 meteorologist. "We have the warmer-than-average weather, the strong wind gusts, and the dry air. So that's a bad combination."
High wind warnings could last through Thursday night.
"Wind gusts at least 60 miles an hour possible (in Billings)," Stiff said. "Other locations could see even stronger gusts."
Down the street, Judy Bacon has experienced high winds with nearby fires before.
"We had huge embers become airborne because the wind got whipping around, and we had to wet our roofs down," Bacon said.
Bacon is so concerned that she put down old roofing material to form a makeshift firebreak between the grass and her fence.
Not all of her neighbors share the same level of worry, however.
"The only time it really bothers me is on the Fourth of July and New Year's with fireworks," said Tom Smith, who lives near the field. "Otherwise, people seem to be quite conscientious."
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