A fire sparked in northeastern Wyoming and running into southern Montana continues to grow and is now at nearly 200,000 acres with 0% containment.
Sparked early Wednesday along with a host of other lightning-caused fires, the Remington Fire in Sheridan County grew by Thursday to between 10,000 and 15,000 acres. With the massive House Draw Fire blazing in nearby Johnson County and two other large fires — one in a collection of residential and ranch neighborhoods — scarring Campbell County, the Remington was a lesser priority for aerial and other outside resources, the Sheridan County Fire Department said at the time.
Then the Remington Fire sprinted into Montana on Thursday night and soon blew up to about 130,000 acres Friday and Saturday. As of Monday, it’s and estimated 196,387 acres and uncontained, Southwest Area Incident Management Team 5 reports.
It chewed under and past the Poker Jim Fire Lookout station, but didn’t damage the structure notably, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for Montana reported late Sunday.
But its rage is declining, the team added in a Monday morning press release.
“Fire behavior was significantly reduced on the Remington fire yesterday,” says the statement. “Today, firefighters will monitor activity on the north end, conducting mopup in the northeast and securing line to the southwest.”
The Wyoming portion, which is about 30,000 acres, was looking more secure Sunday, with dozer lines having stripped vegetation around it, the team said in an update video. Personnel are burning perimeter lines in Montana.
Campbell County
The Remington is the second-highest priority among the four fires the team is managing.
The team’s first priority is the Flat Rock Fire in southwestern Campbell County, in which some structures have already been lost and several more are threatened.
The Flat Rock measured at 52,599 acres as of Monday morning, says the team’s statement. It is 35% contained.
The fire showed moderate fire behavior Sunday as it consumed interior unburned pockets of fuel, especially in its north flank, where ground and air resources worked together within the pinyon-juniper forests, the statement says. Crews are patrolling, monitoring and securing fire lines Monday, suing direct tactics to combat active fires on the north end.
North of Gillette in Campbell County, the Constitution Fire has consumed an estimated 24,594 acres and is 28% contained, the statement says.
Bulldozers are building containment lines Monday and tying into natural features were feasible. The northern end keeps smoking as the flames on the north end consume interior pockets of unburned fuel.
Teton-Fremont County
It was drizzling in Fremont County on Monday, but Chris Joyner, incident spokesman for the Fish Creek Fire near the Fremont-Teton County line, said not to get too excited.
“It’s really important for the public to understand this fire is burning larger fuels, what we call thousand-hour fuels,” said Joyner. “We need a significant amount of moisture over a long period before it has a permanent impact on the fire.” The trees were only at about 12% humidity Monday - "pretty dry," he said, adding that layer of snow on the ground would help more than a morning shower.
The heavily forested region consists of larger timber riddled with beetle kill, not sagebrush and grass. Joyner said the fire is expected to pick back up Monday afternoon as the rain dies down.
The fire grew from Sunday to Monday by about 600 acres to 11,278 acres, and is 23% contained, Joyner added.
The crews’ Monday strategies are to keep working on the perimeter and protecting structures in the area. Personnel worked through the weekend to protect the historic Brooks Lake Lodge, for example.
Joyner was far more optimistic at the arrival of feller bunchers, or machines designed to grab and sever trees at their base, than he was at the fleeting rain.
“It’s a pretty valuable tool, especially when you’re dealing with beetle kill,” said Joyner. “We use those to create some fire perimeter.”
Crews have managed to keep Highway 26 above Dubois open, and it’s expected to remain open, said Joyner.
Johnson County
Holding at 174,702 acres, the House Draw Fires is now 88% contained. Fire personnel, construction crews and ranchers defending their own lots with their sprayer units have tackled the fire throughout the week.
Firefighters converged on and extinguished a burning power line outside the House Draw Fire’s perimeter Sunday. Crews are patrolling and mopping up remaining heat sources Monday and securing line where needed, says the team’s statement.
Contact Clair McFarland at clair@cowboystatedaily.com
Crews worked to save the historic Poker Jim Fire Lookout tower in Custer National Forest, Montana, from the Remington Fire. "Flames burned under and past the station but rendered no notable damage to the structure," the BLM reports. (Mark Jacobsen, Bureau of Land Management) 
The feller buncher sparked a lot more excitement on Togwotee Pass than Monday’s fleeting rain shower. The shower might not be enough to moisten the hefty forest fuel feeding the 11,000-acre Fish Creek Fire, but the feller buncher can sever a line of trees at their bases. (Courtesy Chris Joyner, Incident Spokesman) 
Crews worked to save the historic Poker Jim Fire Lookout tower in Custer National Forest, Montana, from the Remington Fire. "Flames burned under and past the station but rendered no notable damage to the structure," the BLM reports. (Mark Jacobsen, Bureau of Land Management) 
Crews worked to save the historic Poker Jim Fire Lookout tower in Custer National Forest, Montana, from the Remington Fire. "Flames burned under and past the station but rendered no notable damage to the structure," the BLM reports. (Mark Jacobsen, Bureau of Land Management) 
Crews worked to save the historic Poker Jim Fire Lookout tower in Custer National Forest, Montana, from the Remington Fire. "Flames burned under and past the station but rendered no notable damage to the structure," the BLM reports. (Mark Jacobsen, Bureau of Land Management) 
Crews worked to save the historic Poker Jim Fire Lookout tower in Custer National Forest, Montana, from the Remington Fire. "Flames burned under and past the station but rendered no notable damage to the structure," the BLM reports. (Mark Jacobsen, Bureau of Land Management)
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
