Montana fire slows, but still uncontained

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Montana (CNN) -- Firefighters got a break Sunday as the winds died down and they were able to get back to work on a 43,000-acre blaze.

High humidity levels overnight kept the "squirrely winds" in check, said fire information officer Gil Knight. The fire grew by about 3,000 acres Saturday, a minor increase compared to the day before, when heavy winds moved the blaze across nearly 22,000 acres in 24 hours.

Knight said the fire officials were experiencing "minimal fire activity" Sunday, but had yet to reestablish a fire line that was destroyed by the heavy winds.

"We had to start from scratch after that big bust-out," Knight said. He added it was too early to tell when firefighters would be able to get part of the blaze under containment.

"We're gonna be here for awhile," Knight said. "This thing is going to get bigger."

The Moose fire was started by a lightning strike in mid-August and has moved about 16 miles from where it originally started, said Scott Sticha of the National Interagency Fire Center. Friday, it crossed the North Fork River into Glacier National Park, in the northwestern area of Montana.

The fire continued to threaten at least 13 homes, whose residents have been warned about the fire's progress.

"We don't have voluntary evacuations in Montana," Knight explained.

So far the fire has destroyed three "outbuildings," including two outhouses and another minor structure. Earlier in the week, firefighters were able to save a ranger station, used as an educational facility in Glacier National Park, by backburning dry growth around the area before the fire arrived.

New fire activity

Across the West, the National Interagency Fire Center reported five new large fires in the region Sunday after firefighters contained three others. At least 18 large fires were burning Sunday in seven states -- California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

All evacuations were lifted near Hayfork, California, Sunday as firefighters contained 60 percent of a blaze that forced more than 100 people out of their homes.

A 21-square-mile area of forest was closed to bowhunters for the benefit of firefighters, battling the so-called Hyampom fire.

The blaze grew from 400 acres to 720, largely because of firefighting techniques.

"The size grew because of an operational procedure called 'burn-out' where we increase the perimeter of the fire so we can control it," Ivey said.

The fire was caused by arson, and the person is still at large, Ivey said.