Residents have Returned Home

HAMILTON, Mont. (AP) — Residents who had been evacuated because of a western Montana wildfire have been allowed to return home. But some residents near the southern end of the fire have been warned to remain alert to future evacuation notices.

The fire, which has burned nearly 13 square miles in the Bitterroot National Forest southwest of Hamilton, was 30 percent contained on Monday. Some crews were being released.

The Ravalli County sheriff's office earlier said the fire had burned 14 homes and 49 outbuildings, but after some fallen trees were removed from roads, officers found two more homes burned by the fire that started on July 31.

Fire information officer Mike Cole says managers don't expect to have the fire contained until late September, unless the weather ends the fire season sooner.