Arson is suspected after a string of 27 small fires started on the evening of July 22 in south central Montana.
Robert Jones, the acting fire management officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Crow Agency, was just leaving work when the first fire was spotted. It was an incredibly hot afternoon.
"At five o’clock it was 103 degrees," Jones said.
Then two more columns of smoke were seen about a mile north of Crow Agency. The Crow BIA Fire and Aviation crew found five fires along Interstate 90. They rushed to contain the flames.
"Again, getting ready to leave, we got a report of eight more fires. And then from Hardin all the way back to Crow Agency there were about fifteen more fires," Jones said.
There were a total of 27 fires on both sides of I-90 burned close enough to the railroad tracks that BNSF Railway had to shut down operations for the night. Crews from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Big Horn County and Crow Agency worked to contain the fires until midnight.
Officials suspect the fires were started by a single arsonist. Local law enforcement has opened an investigation but was unable to provide details on the suspect or vehicle in time for broadcast.
