MARMARTH (AP) - Fire officials say a blaze that burned an estimated 3,000 acres on Forest Service and private land in southwestern North Dakota was caused by lightning, and it may not be the last one they face in the coming months.

"Fuels are very dry. It doesn't take very much to light them on fire," said Beth Card, a fire management officer for the Forest Service in Dickinson. "Be it lightning, be it a cigarette, be it a catalytic converter, whatever it is. I think we're going to see some more fires out here this summer."

Firefighters from North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana joined in fighting the blaze that was reported shortly after noon Wednesday, about 16 miles north of Marmarth.

"We still have a lot of folks out there mopping it up," Card said Friday.

Areas that usually are wet, that could have slowed the fire, are dry this year and fed the flames, she said.

"The draws and drainages that are normally damper than the other areas, are not damp, they're very dry," Card said. "So instead of slowing down the fire or stopping the fire, the fire is just burning right through it."

Flames as high as 30 feet were reported in windy conditions.

"Big flames, hard to stop, the wind was really pushing it," Card said. "The fuels are really dry. We're in perfect conditions for a large fire, as is obvious with this one."

Card said fire crews from three states, as well as three tribes and federal agencies, shared their resources.

"This has been an interagency organization between local, county, state and federal agencies and we've all been working together to get this fire contained and then to put it out," she said.