RED LODGE — Highway 212 reopened Wednesday, allowing Red Lodge residents to see the damage caused by the ongoing East Side wildfire that forced evacuations and threatened homes.
Red Lodge Fire Chief Tom Kuntz said the 1,200-acre fire's progression has slowed, and evacuations were lifted Wednesday afternoon despite extremely high winds.
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"There were moments where we were really concerned that we were going to lose some homes," Kuntz said Wednesday morning. "Credit to some extremely impressive work from our firefighters to make sure that wasn't the case."
Kuntz said crews want to get through the windy conditions before updating the estimated containment but predicted that would be available soon.
"We want to get through today with this wind and see what the weather looks like tomorrow," Kuntz said.
The newly opened highway gave residents like Mike Miller, who had been watching from afar, his first glance at the damage.
"We’ve just been watching the fire the past couple days," Miller said. "Now that the road is finally open, it’s nice to come up and survey the damage and see what the crews are doing to help."
Miller said it's been scary watching the fire from town.
"It was really crazy to watch happen," Miller said. "I was skiing when it first happened, and then a couple hours later, and it had tripled in size."
Miller said he feared how close the blaze would get when Highway 212 was closed near the south end of town.
"They shut it down pretty much right to the town line, and it was like, ‘How close is it going to get?’" Miller said.
After seeing the aftermath, Miller was in shock.
"I mean it was definitely crazy because I’ve spent so much time up here," Miller said. "It just looks so different, and it’s kind of scary seeing how close it did get to homes."
While firefighters continue to battle the fire, Miller said he was appreciative of all of the work done so far.
"I mean it’s definitely sad seeing the forest go, but I think the crews have done a really good job," Miller said.
Related:
Evacuations lifted, Highway 212 reopened in area of East Side fire near Red Lodge
'Pretty terrifying': Concerns grow in Red Lodge as East Side fire spreads
