Two-way traffic allowed on Highway 2 near Skyland Fire

The Skyland Fire is now the top priority fire in the nation, having grown to more than 16,000 acres as of Monday afternoon. The fire is burning in a swath one to two miles wide and was 11 miles long and growing, just south of Marias Pass, 13 air miles east of Essex. Save for a couple of railheads, all of Glacier National Park is open and the fire had not entered the Park or crossed U.S. Highway 2.

Because it was close to Highway 2, the fire closed the road for several hours over the weekend. Escorts were using pilot cars to shuttle traffic up and over the Continental Divide. Stopping or pulling over during an escort is prohibited. Those restrictions were lifted Tuesday and the highway was reopened to two-way traffic, with reduced speeds near the fire.

The fire is listed at just 5 percent contained as it is now about a mile into the Blackfeet Indian Reservation near Dog Gun Lake, about 14 miles northwest of Heart Butte.