LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of residents in western Montana were evacuated as a wildfire coded "Lolo Peak fire" threatened two main communities in the area, according to the InciWeb Montana Saturday noon.
According to a new situation map uploaded just after 12:00 am by InciWeb, an inter-agency all-risk incident online information management system provided by the United States Forest Service, the "Lolo Peak fire" scorched additional 9,000 acres (36.4 square kilometers)in one night to bring the total burned area to 27,900 acres (112.9 square kilometers).
The blaze, first reported on July 15, so far roared to only one mile within Lolo and Florence, two biggest community located at the junction spot of U.S. Highway 12 and 93 with population of more than 4000.
Pictures posted on facebook by local people showed that a plume from the fire like volcanic eruption turned the sky orange during daytime and a flame wall along a ridge can be seen at night from Missoula, a city 6 miles (11.2 kilometers) northeast from Lolo.
Greg Scheytt, a 74-year-old retired from retail management, who lives in the community of Lolo, said in a video clips post by the local Big Fall Tribune newspaper that residents living there were all very concerned.
"There is no control of the wildfire at all, so it is a very nerve racking time for me and probably for thousands of people that have been evacuated," he said, "a very dangerous time for all of us."
Th U.S. Highway 12 was closed Saturday morning in order to create a fast channel for more than 650 firefighters and their professional equipment at the scene, who will be reinforced by crews from as far as state of Alaska.
InciWEb also disclosed that 155 soldiers of the Montana National Guard had been deployed Saturday morning to help manage checkpoints and patrol evacuated areas to provide relief for overtaxed local law enforcement.
Some 18.8 million U.S. dollars have been spent on fighting the fire, local KPAX 8.com reported Saturday, but zero of the wildfire has been contained.
Moreover, due to strong winds that is expected to push the fire farther to the north and the east, the official were worried that more residents have to be evacuated if the flame jumps cross U.S. Highway 93.
