The Latest: Evacuation order near Lincoln fire lifted

The Latest on wildfires burning in Montana (all times local):

Noon

An evacuation order has been lifted in the area of a 10-acre fire near Lincoln that damaged one cabin, four outbuildings and a vehicle.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton tells the Independent Record (http://bit.ly/29ujxar) that the evacuation order that was issued Monday afternoon was lifted at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Residents of about a dozen cabins had evacuated.

Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fire, which started in an area where a road enters a small subdivision.

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9:45 a.m.

A 10-acre fire northeast of Lincoln led to some evacuations while crews began gaining the upper hand on a larger fire burning between Hamilton and Darby.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton tells the Independent Record that the Elk Trail Loop fire burned some outbuildings near cabins on Monday.

Meanwhile, a lack of major fires in the northwest means Observation fire managers have the luxury of not competing for crews as they try to contain the 2.2-square mile fire, which is 20 per cent contained.

Fire information officer Ann Rys-Sikora says crews rappelled from helicopters into a rugged area on the eastern side of the fire Monday to clear trees to create a spike camp, a safety zone and a spot to land helicopters. Hotshot crews were going to use the camp as a base to begin working the western side of the fire.