Montana firefighters expect 'wild day'

The Moose fire has grown to nearly 50,000 acres.

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Montana (CNN) -- Firefighters battling a 48,000-acre wildfire in this northwestern section of Montana say they expect to be coping with high winds and no precipitation, which are predicted for the region Monday.

Larry Humphrey, incident commander, predicts no immediate end in sight for the Moose fire, which is burning in Flathead National Forest as well as Glacier National Park.

"We're looking for another wild day," said Humphrey. "I don't know how long this will go on, but it's gonna go on for probably several weeks until we get precipitation and snow."

Firefighters were able to contain about five percent of the blaze, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Humphrey said the difficult thing about the area where the fire is burning is the "extremely rough terrain, the heavy fuel loading, and then you've got houses mixed in the way."

"So it's extremely tough, and these small fronts that are coming through with the high winds and no precipitation are making it really difficult for us," Humphrey said.

There were campground evacuations reported Sunday.

Bill Aney, Montana fire information officer, said no campers are in danger, some campgrounds are closed, and some parts of the park are still open.

The Moose fire was started by a lightning strike in mid-August and has moved more than 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.

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.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, three new large fires were reported in the West, and three were contained. A total of 17 large fires were burning Monday in eight states -- California, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming.

Very high to extreme fire danger was reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.