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UPDATE 1-Wildfire at Montana's Glacier National Park rages for fourth day

Published 2015-07-24, 03:38 p/m
UPDATE 1-Wildfire at Montana's Glacier National Park rages for fourth day

(Adds Montana fire is zero percent contained)
By Alex Dobuzinskis
July 24 (Reuters) - A wildfire in Montana's Glacier National
Park raged for a fourth day through heavy timber on Friday
during peak visitor season, while another blaze in Northern
California charred the mountains above Napa Valley wine country,
officials said.
The 4,000-acre (162-hectare) Reynolds Creek Fire in northern
Montana broke out on Tuesday and forced the closure of the main
road through the eastern half of the park, which receives more
than 2 million visitors a year.
The fire has forced the closure of the Rising Sun and St.
Mary campgrounds, a nearby motor inn and several trails, as well
as a 20-mile (32-km) stretch of the picturesque Going-to-the-Sun
Road which bisects the park.
The rest of Glacier National Park, which covers over 1
million acres (400,000 hectares) in northwestern Montana and
straddles the Canadian border, remained open to the public. The
park receives more visitors during July than any other month.
The fire is zero-percent contained, officials said.
"We are expecting a little more wind today, so that does
create a new challenge," said Katie Liming, spokeswoman for the
team handling the fire.
Evacuations were ordered along the western shore of Lower
St. Mary Lake, Liming said. A dozen people left homes in the
area, which is in the Blackfeet Nation's reservation on the
eastern edge of the park, said Robert DesRosier, the tribe's
homeland security director.
The number of personnel assigned to battle the blaze rose to
300 on Friday, from 200 the day before, according to
fire-tracking website InciWeb, which gathers information from
multiple agencies. The cause of the blaze remains unknown.
On Friday, firefighters at Glacier planned complete a
fireline around the head of the blaze near a site where prairie
ground meets a mountain range, officials said on InciWeb.
Wildfires have raged across several states in the
drought-parched U.S. West in recent weeks.
In Northern California, the so-called Wagg Fire spanning
6,900 acres (2,800 hectares) about 75 miles (120 km) north of
San Francisco has prompted the evacuation of dozens of residents
from about 150 structures, said Shelly O'Brien, a technician for
the call center assigned to the wildfire.
The blaze is burning in the mountains above Napa Valley's
famed wine country, said Randy Johnson, a communications
coordinator for the Napa Valley Vintners. But wineries in the
area continue to receive visitors.
The Wagg Fire, which is 20-percent contained, has destroyed
one outbuilding and a tent structure.

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