Firefighters continued to battle a wildland blaze in Bridger Canyon Monday that was started when a controlled burn reignited Saturday evening.

The fire was about 50 percent contained around 6 p.m. Monday while 140 people continued to mop up and douse flare ups, said Gallatin County Undersheriff Jim Oberhofer.

The fire "was an unintentional, accidental rekindling of a controlled, permitted burn" conducted in the Flaming Arrow subdivision earlier Saturday, he said.

Originally, authorities reported that about 350 acres of woods near the Gallatin National Forest had burned, but that number included the area around the burn, Marianne Baumberger of the forest service said Monday. The fire, just south of Bridger Bowl Ski Area on the west side of Bridger Canyon Road, had actually burned about 220 acres, she said.

Most of the burn occurred on private land, not in the national forest, Baumberger said.

Although it came dangerously close to several buildings, scorched several others and destroyed at least one home's deck, most other structures remained unscathed, she said.

"It's just a beautiful fall day," Doug Wales, Bridger Bowl's director of marketing, said Monday afternoon.

The first hours of the fire, which started between 4:30 and 5 p.m. Saturday, were scary, Wales said. The blaze seared part of the ski area's parking lot but never reached any of the structures. The resort had its snow guns shooting water towards the fire, but they were turned off Monday.

"It's a tenuous situation when there's a fire," Wales said. Although there was talk of grabbing essential business documents and computer hard drives from the ski resort offices, "people's safety was the number one concern. We were fortunate it didn't get to that point. As far as any threats, we feel very confident right now."

Bridger Canyon Road was closed Saturday while firefighters worked but reopened Sunday morning, and it is "business as usual at Bridger Bowl," Wales said.

The firefighters have been "working real hard to put down hot spots," Baumberger said. There were three crews, 10 engines and two helicopters still on the scene Monday.

More than 30 agencies responded to the fire, according to a letter received by the Chronicle from the ski area Monday.

"Their rapid and professional response to last weekend's fire helped avoid what could have been devastating to Bridger Bowl," the resort's president Kent Kasting wrote. "It demonstrates a commitment to our community, its citizens and businesses that we are all most fortunate to have."

"It is truly an interagency team effort," Baumberger said.

Cooler temperatures and calmer winds helped contain the fire Monday, but winds are expected to pick up again Tuesday when a cold front moves into the area, she added. The good news is that the cold front is also expected to bring rain and snow to the canyon.

"That will be good to put the fire down and good to get people excited about the ski season," Wales said.

Jodi Hausen can be reached at jhausen@dailychronicle.com or 582-2630.

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