Hundreds of homes were evacuated as surging wildfires forced firefighters to shuffle crews to cover the blazes, including one they thought was under control.
"The statewide situation has gotten more intense since last night," said fire official Scott Vail, who is giving up equipment from his fire in the Swan Valley to help out in the Missoula area. "This is a pretty desperate thing."
Mandatory evacuations were ordered Saturday for an estimated 300 homes around Missoula and another 50 homes had voluntarily evacuated, said Julena Campbell, a fire information officer.
About nine miles west of the city, wind fanned the Black Mountain fire, which grew to more than 5,200 acres Saturday - more than five times its reported size at the start of the day.
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