Winds out of the east were pushing the Sprague Fire closer and closer to Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier National Park/Rebecca Latson

As winds continued Tuesday to push a forest fire closer to the historic Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier National Park, crews worked to protect the lake-side lodge from a wildfire that already has claimed a century-old backcountry lodge.

Vent caps on the lodge's roof had been wrapped in a fire-retardent material, while crews were wetting down buildings in the complex and had placed sprinklers and hoses to be ready if needed, a release said. Additionally, a 7,000-gallon water tanker was on hand.

Sprinklers also were being placed in the nearby Avalanche Creek Campground.

The Sprague Fire, sparked by lightning back on August 10 and not expected to be contained before November, barring a major rain or snowfall, has spread across more than 13,300 acres in the park. Last week the fire claimed the Sperry Chalet located 6.1 miles from Lake McDonald Lodge up a hiking trail.

Fire engines, sprinklers, hoses, and a 7,000-gallon tanker were on hand to protect the Lake McDonald Lodge from the Sprague Fire/NPS

The main weather concern for the nearly 150 firefighters on the lines was a "persistent easterly wind, which is unfavorable with respect to pushing the fire closer to Lake McDonald. In spite of the wind, temperatures have moderated closer to normal with highs in the mid-70s and humidity minimums of 20-30 percent," a fire release said. "Winds are forecast to diminish with a warming trend Tuesday and above normal temperatures Wednesday and Thursday. With high pressure building almost directly overhead, this will result in stable conditions, light and variable winds, and little or no smoke transport."

With little more than a third of the fire's perimeter contained, an evacuation order posted during the weekend for an area stretching from the southern tip of Lake McDonald to Logan Pass remained in place Tuesday. However, "all areas of the North Fork, Apgar Village, the Going-to-the-Sun Road between St. Mary and Logan Pass, Granite Park Chalet, Two Medicine, St. Mary, Many Glacier and Goat Haunt" remained open to park visitors.

Across the West, 53 large fires were burning in the Northern Rockies, impacting 662,000 acres, according to federal fire officials. Nationally, 137 large fires had impacted 7.8-million acres this year, or roughly 2.5 million acres more than the ten-year average for wildlfire acreage, they added.