2 fires impact Big Horn Basin

Two fires burning in Wyoming, one to the east of Washakie County and one to the west have impacted residents over the past week.

Sunday Worland and area residents saw smoke move in from the Fish Creek and Pack Trail Fires burning in Teton and Fremont counties.

The Fish Creek Fire was at 87% containment on Monday afternoon and has burned 25,069 acres. Areas evacuated included Brooks Lake Road, Breccia Drive and U.S. Highway 26 (Togwotee Pass from milepost 30 to 44), Long Creek and Lava Mountain subdivisions, Triangle C Ranch.

Due to wind Sunday and Monday the Pack Trail Fire grew to just under 19,000 acres with 0% containment on Tuesday. The fire was at 3,500 acres on Sept. 28 and 18,525 Tuesday morning. The fire is just 3 miles south of the southern edge of the Fish Creek Fire with the same evacuations in place. It is burning 2 miles northeast of the confluence of the south fork and north fork of Fish Creek in Teton County. It is burning in heavy timber, according to officials from the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Several businesses in and around Dubois have provided assistance including lodging, places for livestock and more for those who have had to evacuate. An evacuation shelter was set up at the Warm Valley Assisted Living in Dubois. The shelter closed after Monday night with volunteers on standby should the need arise to open the shelter again.

According to Monday’s report from Bridger-Teton National Forest, the Pack Trail Fire had extreme fire behavior burning in heavy timber and growing substantially with the 60-mile per hour wind gusts. The fire grew to 19,608 acres Sunday with red flag conditions. “The fire made a 5-mile wind driven run with crowning and spotting during the afternoon”, said District Ranger Todd Stiles.

The extreme fire behavior prompted evacuations, and an increase in the evacuation alert level for several subdivisions and ranches in Fremont County. As of Monday, the fire was paused on the ridge between Lava Mountain peak and the old Lava Mountain burn scar, above the Lava Mountain lodge. “The fire is continuing to burn on the interior right now and that is expected to continue today”, said Stiles.

Firefighters are assessing the area down ridge from the fire edge and looking for spots where the fire is trying to spread.  Structure protection groups have been formed to perform assessments and ready structures along the Wind River corridor with protection apparatus.  Resources have been arriving Monday morning including firefighting handcrews and additional fire engines. A complex incident management team from California, CA Team 10, is arriving over the next two-days and is expected to assume command of the fire late Wednesday or early Thursday.

“The winds are expected to moderate somewhat [Monday], but terrain alignment down canyon is still present and we are still facing warm temperatures and low humidity,” Stiles said.

ELK FIRE

Winds Sunday and Monday also hampered firefighting efforts on the Elk Fire burning west of Dayton near Riley Point. The fire was at 32,069 acres as of Tuesday evening. The fire was at 466 acres on Saturday. It started by lightning on Friday, Sept. 27.

According to a Bighorn National Forest press release, the Wyoming Department of Transportation has closed highway 14 from Dayton to Burgess Junction to all public travel. The highway remained closed on Wednesday.  Sheridan County has closed Pass Creek Road, Twin Creek, Smith Creek Road and Tongue River Canyon Road to non-resident travel.

Additional evacuations were conducted Tuesday night after the fire jumped the Tongue River.

Those affected by evacuations are asked to contact Sheridan County Emergency Management at 307-752-2174.

Several Forest Service roads have been closed including the northern portion of the Tongue Ranger District north of Highways 14 and 14a is closed.  There is also temporary closures of Forest System Roads 145, 150, 114, and 168. Forest System Trails 201, 077, and 428 are also affected by this closure. This order is being put in place to protect firefighter and visitor safety.  The area is being heavily used by firefighters, including large equipment. 

The Sheridan Press via the Wyoming News Exchange reported that Tongue River closed schools on Monday out of “an abundance of caution,” Sheridan County School District 1 Superintendent Jeff Jones told the Sheridan Press in an email.

The high winds Sunday halted aerial firefighting on both the Pack Trail Fire and Elk Fire.

According to the Wyoming Type III team update on the Elk Fire, air operations were underway Monday afternoon. Retardant was being dropped by four large air tankers in locations where success is highest. Due to high winds, helicopter operations were paused.

Fire crews continued to focus on structures protection along the face of the mountain along Pass Creek toward Dayton.

A Complex Incident Management Team 3 took over command of the fire and transition was completed Tuesday evening.

The objective is to protect critical values at risk. These values include firefighter and public safety, lands and property off National Forest Lands, two cow camps and a radio repeater site.

The strategy is full suppression. The team is utilizing all available tactics with firefighter and public safety as the primary decision driver. The approach to suppress the fire will be conducive to the terrain, conditions, and medical team response time.