That unit will travel on Friday to the Bitterroot National Forest near Darby, Montana, to begin a 30-day assignment. Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, will be deployed to Montana within the next two weeks. Fires were burning in Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming on Wednesday. Recreation areas shrinking The BLM's closure of additional lands in Montana is likely to further rankle outdoor enthusiasts who have seen the amount of land available for hiking, camping and fishing shrink. The land will not be open to the public for activities such as hiking, camping or fishing, mainstays of summer recreation in Montana, but the bureau order allowed exceptions for specified campgrounds and recreation areas.
People still can cross the federal land for access to their homes.
In the month since Montana's fire season began, the burning has disrupted major industries such as tourism and agriculture, drawn thousands of firefighters and sent smoke miles from the flames. On Tuesday, haze from Montana fires hung over Reno, Nevada. Investigators said the fire was likely started by maintenance crews working on railroad tracks. In Wyoming, a blaze that closed a major route into Yellowstone National Park for four days was 20 percent contained. It was just south of Yellowstone's southern boundary but was not an immediate threat to move into the park, said Les Wadzinski of the Forest Service.