Fire crews are still working to contain a wildfire that quickly spread in Sweet Grass County, forcing the temporary closure of the Greycliff Mill.
Fanned by strong winds and dry conditions, the Grey Fire grew to around 80 acres overnight.
Watch Grey Fire story here:
The blaze was visible for miles along the highway, burning near the Greycliff rest stop.
County and state crews worked to stop it from spreading to nearby homes, and the fire settled down considerably overnight.
Smoke from the wildfire and hot spots are still impacting Sweet Grass County.
Flames came dangerously close to the Greycliff Mill, forcing its owners to close.
"We got within a couple hundred feet of potentially losing all of it," said Matthew Brandstadt, Greycliff Mill owner.
Even after sunset, conditions worsened. Wicked winds pushed the blaze mostly east and south of Interstate 90 and Greycliff.
"It blew down this way," said Elisha Sherman, Greycliff Mill manager. "Fortunately it was able to stay behind the cliffs, and the fire crews were able to keep it back there."
They were really concerned about the fire going down the cliff to the Greycliff Mill.
"These trees were bursting into flame and they were moving straight toward all of this and all these little green grass around it," Brandstadt said. "But the embers were flying and they easily could have hit all of those structures."
Many were forced to evacuate late into the night and early morning.
"The fire was coming down right along this ridge the whole way, stopped, and jumped the road and went around," said Dawn Palmer, a Greycliff resident. "So it was a little terrifying for a while to see pretty much our whole life about to go up in smoke."
Brandstadt pointed to a possible starting point that spread in both directions.
He said firefighters were able to put a fire break just above it to save some of the homes.
"If they would not have come when they did, these (homes) would have all been knocked out," Brandstadt said.
Brandstadt's son Stephen, a Greycliff Mill manager, was leading a group on a horse ride when the fire broke out.
"I was trying to stay calm," Stephen Brandstadt said. "I didn't think it would make it up to where we were."
Stephen is also a firefighter with the Big Timber Volunteer Fire Department and jumped in to help protect homes.
"We had to lay some hose line and put a little water and try to, you know, get, get a good bit wetted down, a good ways into the black, try to keep things safe," Stephen said.
Sweet Grass County Fire Chief Kris Novotny estimates the fire at about 80 acres with next to no containment, and winds are expected to worsen.
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