Sheridan County continues fighting a roughly 10,000-acre fire in the county’s northeastern corner, while pinching resources to accommodate fire departments in other nearby counties with even larger wildfires to battle.
“The Remington Fire is not the highest priority in the region,” Chris Thomas, Sheridan County Fire Warden, told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday. “We’re having to make do with whatever local resources we’ve got.”
That’s because the 164,000-acre House Draw Fire in Johnson County shut down Interstate 90 until late Thursday and prompted evacuations. The more than 30,000-acre Flat Rock Fire west of Gillette, Wyoming, involves several threatened structures. And the more than 15,000-acre Constitution Fire in northern Campbell County is threatening farmland and the nearby Highway 59.
The Fish Creek Fire near the Fremont-Teton County line was last reported at 10,000 acres by the Wyoming State Forestry Division, and has put Togwotee Pass neighborhoods on notice to be prepared to evacuate.
The Remington Fire, by contrast, is threatening just eight primary residences. But it’s also threatening timber, grasslands, power lines, potentially live coal-bed and methane operations, said Thomas.
Voluntary evacuation notices were in place east of Cross Road north to Highway 14 from the Johnson County line as of Thursday.
Thomas said he’s received no reports of injuries or deaths. Winds ruffled the region Thursday, but they weren’t as bad as Wednesday night.
Personnel Stretched
Fire departments are short staffed, but ranchers are quick to help.
“They’ve got at least three or four ranches providing engines — it may be a pickup with a tank and a pump, but right now that’s an engine,” Thomas said.
Sheridan County Fire has ordered resources from other areas, and even secured an engine that’s now on its way from Montrose, Colorado, 580 miles away. That’s not too far when the community needs help, said Thomas.
Thomas has not been able to secure aerial support, which he said is understandable in light of the fires raging throughout Wyoming.
“It would be nice to be able to knock (Remington) down,” he said. “(But) we’re gonna have to do without that.”
Aerial firefighting company Coulson Aviation reported Thursday to its Facebook page that it had sent a plane to Wyoming, and attached a map showing Johnson County’s House Draw Fire.
To the east in Campbell County, Fire Marshall Stuart Burnham said he also did not have aerial support as of early Thursday afternoon, due to the demand for them elsewhere.
But air support arrived for Campbell County near evening.
The Remington Fire is burning in northern Sheridan County near the Montana border. (Courtesy Clearmont Fire District) 
The Remington Fire is burning in northern Sheridan County near the Montana border. (Courtesy Clearmont Fire District) 
Firefighters make a fire line overnight Wednesday to battle the Remington Fire in northern Sheridan County near the Montana border. (Goose Valley Fire Department via Facebook)
Pressing On
Jesse Ludikhuize, Sheridan County Emergency Coordinator, also bemoaned the lack of air resources. He said the local departments are doing their best with what they have. As of Thursday evening, crews were trying to establish containment lines - and betting against the wind.
An incident management team from other areas is being assembled Sunday, Ludikhuize said. While Interstate 90 is closed, Highway 14 has become congested, and some travelers are speeding through Clearmont's 30 MPH zone. A one-lane construction zone on the highway isn't helping either, he added.
The Sheridan County Sheriff's Office is "doing a great job" with traffic enforcement to keep everyone safe. Authorities have set up digital signs to remind people to slow down, Ludikhuize said.
Giving Back
Thomas said Sheridan County has had a number of large fires this summer. The Remington marks the third fire in recent weeks to exceed 1,000 acres.
“So folks, their fun meter is getting kind of empty on this stuff,” he said, adding that it is, nevertheless, kind of employers to let volunteer firefighters and other volunteers take time off to fight the flames.
Everyone is hoping for rain, said Thomas.
Sheridan resident Yvonne Swanson recognized the need for help a couple weeks ago and gave the $450 in proceeds from one of her weekly charitable bingo nights, Black Tooth Bingo, to local fire departments.
“I think it’s important (to help them),” she said. “They’re kind of a forgotten resource we have in our town, in our community.”
Ludikhuize said the fire departments welcome donations, especially monetary, and encouraged prospective donors to reach out to the Clearmont Fire District via its official Facebook page to organize any donations. As for food and amenities for people potentially displaced, those aren't needed at this time, because the sparsely-populated area affected by the fire is only under a voluntary evacuation order at this time and there has yet been no need for a pop-up shelter.
