BOZEMAN — It was a hot and dry Friday, the perfect ingredients for a fire, which is exactly what broke out just northeast of Bozeman, above the 'M' trail in the Bridger Mountains.
As of Saturday morning, 400 acres have burned just two and a half miles up from the M parking lot.
“This is something I’ve never seen before. I’ve lived in Bozeman since 1967, and I’ve never seen the Bridgers on fire like this,” said on-looker Brian Phillips.
“Brenda called and said this is not good. Look out the window and there it was,” said neighboring resident Laurie Weisner.
Not good was right. Around 3 p.m. Friday, multiple fire crews around Bozeman started receiving reports of heavy smoke just north of the popular M trail.
“Units got on it pretty quickly. The Sheriff’s Office, we got around to it on the east side to make sure we’re able to notify residents on that side. Let them know that there was a fire on the west side,” explained Undersheriff Dan Springer with the Gallatin County Sheriff's Department.
Resources fighting the fire include 2 air tankers, 2 helicopters, 1 engine, multiple smoke jumpers and multiple personnel on deck.
“Laid a really nice line right above the M. You can see where they’ve got a place where the fire should stop. But I'm expecting another round, and they’re really doing an amazing job of putting this fire out. It’s definitely a full-court press,” Phillips said.
There are neighboring houses in the area, but no evacuations have been ordered so far.
“We have not done any evacuations. At this point, it’s just notifying that there is activity on this side,” Springer said.
We talked to some of those neighbors, who are ready should they need to leave.
“It has a long way to go but if the wind changes direction, it could be scary,” said Weisner.
“So sad, just absolutely tragic. It’s just absolutely tragic. This is a huge scar that we’ll be looking at for many years,” Phillips expressed.
Sources from county law enforcement tell MTN News that there have not been any injuries and all hikers were able to safely be removed from the trail.
There has been no word yet on the start of the fire and as of now, it is zero percent contained.
RELATED: Bridger Foothills Fire viewer photos
