32 buildings in Stage 1 evacuation for Christensen Fire

BUTTE, Mont. — Rainfall continues on the Alder Creek, Trail Creek and Christensen fires Monday night as storms roll through southwest Montana.

"That's a really good thing. That's definitely slowed these fires down," explained True Brown, operation section chief with Southwest Area type 1 incident management. "But as folks around here are well aware, there’s going to take a lot more to put these fires out.”

What started as improved air quality Monday morning disappeared in the evening.

Evacuations continue while the Southwest Area type 1 incident management team works to take advantage of the weather.

The Beaverhead County sheriff announced four households were contacted, and 32 buildings are in the stage1 evacuation area near the Christensen Fire.

The Christensen Fire is burning close to 8,000 acres with no recorded containment.

The Alder Creek Fire, at 10,000 acres, remains at 10% containment.

The Trail Creek Fire shows improvement.

"We are showing a bit of containment here -- just near the Big Hole Battlefield," said Brown.

The Trail Creek Fire has burned 35,000 acres and was rapidly approaching the Big Hole National Battlefield.

When we first visited the battlefield, we showed you back-burn operations.

"It's kind of difficult to see right now, but that's what that little smoke you're seeing right now," said Mandi Wick, pointing toward smoke coming out of the neighboring hill.

Old burns and new moisture help with current containment. Teams said protecting this area is still the main priority.

"We do have some more moisture in the forecast, but we are looking diligently and deliberately to really make sure we have a safe and effective operation," said Brown.

Crews hope more rain will help combat the flames for all three fires.