BILLINGS — A property owner shooting exploding targets started a fire that burned 6.5 acres of their property in the Columbus area near Crazy Mountain View Road Sunday, according to Nick Jacobs, Columbus Fire Rescue assistant chief.
The fire started around 1 p.m. and came within 20 yards of one home in the Pinecrest sub division. The fire was put out around 2:15 p.m., Jacobs told Q2 over the phone.
No one was injured, but the fire burned a grassy area and a handful of ponderosa pine trees.
Firefighters with Columbus Fire Rescue, Blue Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Park City Volunteer Fire Department and Laurel Fire Department all responded, Jacobs said.
A bucket helicopter with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation also assisted in the effort, Jacobs said. The helicopter picked up water from the nearby Yellowstone River to drop on the blaze.
Jacobs encouraged people to be extremely careful with fires this season. If a fire gets large enough to require firefighter camps to be set up, there's a bigger risk of COVID-19 spread among personnel.
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