Firefighters are trying to extinguish the largest wildfire in the United States after it burned an area nearly three times the size of Philadelphia.
More than 600 firefighters from 34 states have congregated in Montana to fight the largest wildfire in the U.S., now 20 percent contained, according to a fact sheet obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Favorable weather Monday gave firefighters the break they needed to start controlling the wildfire, Montana-Dakotas Bureau of Land Management communications director Al Nash told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The combination of intense initial attack by the landowners and local resources along with the work of fire crews, has halted most the fire’s progress,” the report said.
By Tuesday morning, 250,000 acres had been burned, forcing 50 evacuations and destroying 22 buildings. A lightning strike Wednesday started the blaze, Reuters reports.
Possible thunderstorms with accompanying winds forecasted for Tuesday night could cause issues for the firefighters by changing the direction of the fire or pushing the fire past fire lines.
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