Fire near Ten Sleep grows quickly Tuesday

TEN SLEEP - The Brokenback Creek Fire that started out as a half-acre fire quickly blew up to 1,300 acres in about five hours on Tuesday.

Ten Sleep Fire Department was dispatched at 11:19 to the initial fire call that is now being handled by Bureau of Land Management with assistance from the Washakie County firefighters and Bighorn National Forest firefighters.

The Brokenback Creek Fire is burning in grass and brush about five miles northwest of Ten Sleep near the Tensleep–Hyattville Road, according to the BLM.

BLM Wind River/Bighorn Basin District public affairs officer Sarah Beckwith said that the fire, as of about 3:30 p.m. was at 1,300 acres.

She said it was maintaining that initial acreage Tuesday night but the area would be mapped on Wednesday for a more accurate acreage.

Residents are asked to avoid the Ten Sleep-Hyattvilled road to allow firefighters easy access to and from the fire.

Beckwith said the fire appears to be primarily on BLM land but a closer examination of the perimeter will be completed on Wednesday to determine if there are other landowners involved.

She said the fire did start on public lands.

There was a Type 1 helicopter and a few single engine air tankers (SEATs) that had been mobilized to the fire.

The fire was moving northeast. No structures are immediately threatened, according to Beckwith.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Check the Northern Wyoming News website and Facebook page for updates on the fire throughout the week.