HARDIN - A Type II Incident Management Team arrived at the Poverty Flats Fire in Big Horn County on Thursday morning to coordinate firefighting efforts.
The large blaze that started on Tuesday about 10 miles north of Hardin had scorched an estimated 75,000 acres by Wednesday afternoon. It threatened the small community of Dunmore, and a Red Cross emergency shelter was opened in Crow Agency to assist those who evacuated due to the blaze.
On Thursday morning the fire had quieted down in the area around Dunmore, according to BIA fire officials, but the fire is expected to resume intensity in the heat forecast for Thursday.
"Please avoid the River Road and Dunmore! Looky-loos (spectators) were obstacles to firefighters Wednesday - The river road is too narrow to be craning necks looking around! Even people on the freeway were bad drivers. Stay away so firefighters can do their work," BIA fire officials said in a Facebook post on Thursday morning.
There have been no official evacuation orders and there have been no confirmed reports of structure losses.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
After sparking on Tuesday afternoon, the fire ran south, crossing Highway 384 about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and entering the Crow Indian Reservation about then, and reaching the Little Big Horn River 6 miles southeast of Hardin by Wednesday afternoon, about 16 miles from its origin. It spotted across the river Wednesday night but forces caught those small fires.
RELATED: Revised estimate puts Big Horn County wildfire at 75,000 acres
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