Montana wildfires grow near Helena as crews urge people away

MONTANA — Fire activity is picking up across the state as several new fires have been reported and crews continue working on two larger blazes.

Three small fires were reported in the past 24 hours near Butte, Missoula and Fort Belknap. At the same time, firefighters continue battling the Jericho Creek Fire near Helena and the East Side Fire in the Custer Gallatin National Forest.

Both of those larger fires were still more than 1,000 acres as of Saturday afternoon.

The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest reported that crews working on the Jericho Creek Fire were mainly focused on stopping the spread of the blaze.

Officials urged the public to stay out of the area of the national forest even with minimal fire activity expected there over the next few days.