Montana was hit with yet another big fire on Thursday, requiring a type 3 management team deployed today. Fire Information Officer Peri Suenram describes how the Blue Lake fire began.

"The Blue Lake Fire, which is located between Ennis and Virginia City in the Gravelly Mountains,  is confirmed that it was a tree that was struck my lightning," Suenram said. "We do have two helicopters working, and there was some retardant dropped. We are getting some support from the retardant."

Part of the difficulty in fighting the Blue Lake Fire is the lack of access, there is only a single lane road that leads back to the blaze. So far the fire has not come very close to any structures.

"There are several subdivisions in the area, but the good news for them is the wind isn't blowing toward them, at least at this time. There are no evacuations, no plans for evacuations in place," Suenram said. "There are a few structures, the Axolotl Lake Cabin, which is near Axolotl Lake."

The fire was about a mile and a half from both the subdivisions and the structures last Friday. Strong winds that began on Friday morning pushed the fire to 314 acres.

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