Park Visitors Convoyed in Fire Area

Residents of two towns on the edge of Yellowstone Park were warned Friday that they might have to evacuate because of a 36,000-acre forest fire, and, inside the park, rangers shepherded convoys of tourists down roads otherwise closed by fires.

Other forest fires threatened two communities in Oregon, and youngsters at a Bible camp were sent home as a precaution. Numerous fires charred woodlands in parts of Washington, California, Utah and Idaho.

Friday’s two convoys of up to 350 cars allowed tourists to get from one side of the park to the other in safety, after a ranger drove the route between the park communities of Canyon and Norris to check its condition.

Some Tourists Upset

Ranger Mona Devine said notices were posted Thursday night telling visitors of the convoys. “They think it’s a big adventure. Of course, some of the people are upset,” she said.

The convoys filed past the 114,000-acre North Fork fire, one of 10 involving about 400,000 acres of the park.

Just outside the park’s northeast entrance, a 36,000-acre blaze in the Absaroka-Beartooth wilderness area in south-central Montana threatened two towns Friday, and a fire official said evacuation plans were ready.

“We have about a 30% to 40% chance that we would have to evacuate” Cooke City and Silver Gate, said David Liebersbach, a commander on the Storm Creek fire.

The southern edge of the fire was about four miles north of Cooke City and a rocky ridge with little vegetation stood between the fire and the town, Liebersbach said. He estimated that from 500 to 1,000 people might be affected if an evacuation is ordered.

Entry Fee Dropped

Yellowstone stopped charging its $10 entry fee Wednesday because of the inconvenience the fires created for visitors. But some visitors saw the restricted access in Yellowstone as a blessing.

“I kind of enjoy being alone in Yellowstone at the height of the tourist season,” Melanie Simcoff of San Francisco said. “This is nice, actually, and they say we’re here at a very historical moment in the park’s history.”

Park facilities at Grant Village, Lewis Lake, Norris, Canyon, Pebble Creek and Madison remained closed Friday. The park’s west entrance was reopened Friday morning, although intermittent closures were expected, and the south entrance near Grant Village remained closed.

Elsewhere, residents of Maxville, Mont., a town of about two dozen households 90 miles southwest of Helena, were told to stand by Friday for possible evacuation as a fire spread to about 7,500 acres of timber overnight, Palmer Bowen, a fire information officer, said. Winds pushed the fire away from the town during the day, however, leaving the flames three to four miles southwest of the town.

Main Road Closed

The fire forced closure of the main road through the area, between Drummond and Phillipsburg, destroyed a trailer home and two bulldozers and chased fire crews out of a mining camp in the Deerlodge National Forest.

In southwestern Oregon, the lightning-sparked Walker Mountain fire crept within a half mile of a subdivision of about 1,000 people north of Grants Pass. In the northeastern corner of the state, the Ward Canyon fire spread to within a mile of the tiny community of Troy, authorities said.

Communities Placed on Alert

Both communities were placed on evacuation alert. The Ward Canyon blaze had burned 15 structures, mostly hunting cabins.

About 120 second-grade children from the Fir Point Bible Camp were taken to a school about 25 miles north of Grants Pass “as a precautionary move” after the Woods Creek fire grew to 500 acres, said Jim Fisher, a state Forestry Department spokesman. He said the children headed home Friday, and the fire was 75% contained.

Also in the state’s northeast corner, the Tepee Butte fire exploded to 18,000 acres of grass and timber by Friday morning from 150 acres Thursday afternoon, and firefighters said it could spread to as many as 80,000 acres.