The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation order for two drainages south of Red Lodge due to the Robertson Draw Fire. Custer Gallatin National Forest officials say the fire is very active and burning an estimated 200 acres in timber.
The Gold and Ruby drainages were evacuated Monday afternoon. The North and South Fork Grove areas are on pre-evacuation standby.
An area closure is in place on the Custer Gallatin National Forest south of Highway 212 from the Mount Maurice trailhead to Greenough Lake and south to the Wyoming border.
The Carbon County Sheriff could not be reached for how many structures or people fall under the evacuations.
Amy Hyfield with Red Lodge Fire says no structures are currently threatened and the Robertson Draw Fire has not crossed over the plateau.
“We have currently about 80 people assigned to the fire. That includes two hand crews and two helicopters,” Hyfield said. “We do have some airtankers that are on order and a Type 2 Management Team has been ordered up and coming in.”
Hyfield says firefighter and public safety are, as usual, the primary concern.
“I would say that June 13 is a little early, but that's fire season in Montana for you,” Hyfield says. “So I think other than that, it's the usual that we're trying to be concerned about: Public safety, firefighter safety and making sure we can fight this fire in the best way possible, especially with the weather the way it is.”
A red flag warning for potentially extreme fire behavior is in effect starting Tuesday morning.
The Robertson Draw Fire was first reported Sunday afternoon. The cause is under investigation.
More information, including maps and notices of area closures, is available on InciWeb.
Meanwhile, firefighters have contained the 60 acre Joe Leg Creek Fire burning 16 miles north of Ashland in Rosebud County. The fire was started by a coal seam Sunday afternoon.
A coal seam has started another wildfire in Rosebud County. The East Stebbins Fire is currently estimated at one acre and is six miles west of Ashland.
