BIA Firefighters Dealing With Fires And Fast Moving Traffic

BIA Crow Agency fire responded to four fires since noon Tuesday (June 29th), most recently the Highway 212 Mile Marker 1 fire, lit by a blown semi tire in the downhill side of US Highway 212 approaching Crow Agency from the east.

This roadside fire flashed across 13 acres of grass in a few minutes, as four engines corralled the 6- to 9-foot flames about 2 p.m. 

 “The semis didn’t even slow down for us,” said incident commander Garret Costa.

The three engine crews from Crow and one from BIA Michigan Agency, engine boss Tom Chosa, were at risk from people driving 70 mph through the smoke. 

Michael Stops, Chief Ranger of the NPS Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and a Big Horn County Sheriff officer attempted downhill traffic control with their emergency lights.

Please use common sense and “give every consideration to emergency workers at a roadside incident,” said duty officer Lee Old Bear. “We want to make sure everyone makes it home.”

Fires flared as humidity dropped to 12% at Crow Agency and Billings Wednesday afternoon.

About 11 a.m. local ranchers stopped the 0.4 acre Lower Rotten Grass Creek fire with help from a large water tank, UTVs, and a BIA engine.

That fire started from farm equipment.

Tuesday Crow engines extinguished a small human-caused fire off Plenty Hawk Drive in Crow Agency, and 1.5 acres of burning grass where people dump trash above the Lodge Grass rodeo grounds.