Update 7:45 p.m.
The Pryor Creek Road fire has grown to 10,000 acres and is 0 percent contained, according to state fire officials.
MT Fire Info reports the fire is now the third largest in the state. The Pryor Creek Road fire was discovered around 1 p.m. northeast of Pryor.
Pryor Creek Road has been closed
Authorities believe it was human caused.
(first report) Multiple fire agencies are responding Tuesday to a 500-plus acre wildland fire northeast of Pryor.
Karl Bighair of the Bureau of Indian Affairs said the fire was reported around 1:20 p.m. Tuesday near the junction of Pryor Creek Road and Blue Creek Road, a few miles south of the Blue Creek shooting range heading north.
One structure, an unoccupied home under construction, was threatened Tuesday evening, but firefighters had managed to protect several others throughout the day, Bighair said.
Hot, dry gusts of winds from the south pushed the fire to jump the graveled Hay Creek Road with 10-foot flames around 3:40 p.m. Yellowstone County sheriff's deputies went door to door, suggesting voluntary evacuation for a handful of nearby homeowners.
The area is surrounded by dryland grain fields, and forecasters are expecting winds to continue over the fire for the next 24 hours.
Two single-engine air tankers were loading and returning from the Billings to fight the fire, along with a BIA light helicopter from Crow Agency and a medium helicopter from Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Big Horn County Rural Fire, Lockwood Fire and BLM engines are also on teh scene.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
