Huff Fire Threatens Jordan, Residents Evacuated

A wildfire threatened the town of Jordan on Wednesday, Sept. 2, forcing evacuations. The fire began as a burning project on agricultural property about four miles northwest of the town. Jordan has fewer than 400 people and is located about 80 miles northwest of Miles City on Montana Highway 59. Residents were allowed to return to their homes and the blaze appeared to have left the town unscathed by Wednesday evening.

According to the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, the fire was considered under control as late as noon on Sept. 2. By early afternoon, the fire was deemed to be burning out of control.

An update from DES coordinator Anne Miller at 1:20 p.m. stated, “This fire is currently wind driven and we cannot repeat enough times DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BE AHEAD OF IT!”

An update on the DES Facebook page at 2:45 p.m. stated, “Landowners and residences on the eastern side of Garfield County need to be prepared now!”

The fire jumped the highway a little before 3 p.m. Residents were asked to evacuate to the west side of Jordan at approximately 3:45 p.m. They were allowed to return home by 7 p.m. Fire crews monitored rekindles northeast of Jordan throughout the night.

Cohagen, located 20 miles south of Jordan, was evacuated by 6 p.m. That evacuation order remained until 9 p.m.

According to the Bureau of Land Management, the fire was caused by humans and burned in excess of 46,000 acres. The total fire perimeter was 57.86 miles.

Over 200 structures in Jordan alone were threatened by the fire. According to area media, two structures were destroyed. Local ranchers lost roughly 200 sheep to the fire, along with several cows. More livestock remains atlarge and motorists are encouraged to take care.