The Deer Creek Fire is currently listed at about 10 acres, and is burning in the rugged foothills about 10 miles from Tarkio in the Lolo National Forest.

Spokesman Boyd Hartwig said late Sunday night that the hot dry conditions were perfect for a wildland fire.

"It's just off Deer Creek Road in that area and just east of Fish Creek Road," Hartwig said. "We had six engines on it, a type one helicopter and two single-engine tankers dropping retardant, and they were able to check the fire's growth pretty well. The fire's kind of laying down right now, now that the sun is off it, and we are actually releasing some of our assets, but we're keeping crews on the scene all night to keep an eye on the fire."

Hartwig said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but an investigation is underway to see if it might have been human caused.

Hartwig reminds anyone visiting the forest, that fire danger is real, and almost anything can get a fire started.

"It's a message that we sometime forget, that you just have to be really careful with anything that can ignite a fire," he said. "It could be a welding torch, or even a lawn mower striking a rock that sparks a fire, or of course an abandoned campfire. Any of those things, so folks really need to pay attention. We're in fire season now and we all know these fires can go big very quickly."

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