At least three of Wyoming’s five major wildfires saw rain Monday, which for helped firefighters make some progress on containing fires that have so far burned nearly 460,000 acres in Wyoming and southern Montana.
In the dense timber of the 11,278-acre Fish Creek Fire northwest of Dubois, Wyoming, Monday’s rain and snow skiff did not inspire nearly as much optimism as the arrival of a feller buncher — a machine that can chew a bald line through the timber by severing trees at their bases.
Because the Fish Creek Fire is burning timber rather than just grasses, it would take more than a morning shower to extinguish it.
But the 174,702-acre House Draw Fire in the ranch lands of Johnson County was “hampered” by rain Monday, according to a Tuesday statement by the regional firefighting team, Southwest Area Incident Management Team No. 5.
Here’s an update on Wyoming’s five notable wildfires:
Campbell County
The Flat Rock Fire west of Gillette jumped from 35% containment Monday morning to 49% Tuesday morning. Firefighters directly attacked the fire’s north end. That blaze has held at 52,599 acres since early Monday, after growing by nearly 11,000 acres Sunday.
It showed moderate fire behavior Monday as it consumed interior unburned pockets of fuel, primarily in its north flank. Air resources worked in tandem in the pinyon-juniper forests, says the team’s statement.
Crews are patrolling, monitoring and securing fire lines Tuesday and using direct tactics on the fire’s enterprising north end.
To the northeast, the Constitution Fire has remained at 24,594 acres early this week after the team estimated it at 12,080 Sunday morning. It has held at 28% containment for at least three days, as crews continue to secure the fire’s edge. This area is smoky, with the fire chewing through pockets of unburned fuel in its perimeter.
Sheridan County
In northeast Sheridan County and southern Montana, the Remington Fire remained at 196,387 acres Monday and Tuesday, after it plumed Friday from about 18,000 to 130,000 acres. Firefighters pulled back “due to the widespread rain” during their mop-up activities, the statement says.
The Remington Fire is now 5% contained, an improvement from Monday’s 0% containment figure.
Johnson County
The House Draw Fire in Johnson County exploded to more than 100,000 acres the earliest of Wyoming’s wildfires after a series of lightning strikes in drought-affected grasslands ignited several other wildfires last Wednesday. It’s held at 174,702 acres Monday and Tuesday, a slight increase of about 300 acres from Sunday’s estimate. Firefighters have this one 88% contained.
“Rain hampered fire activity on the House Draw fire” Monday, says the statement. Crews are assessing and mapping dozer lines for suppression repair Tuesday.
Fremont-Teton Counties
Near the Fremont and Teton County line, the Fish Creek Fire has remained at 11,278 acres Monday and Tuesday, and is at 26% completion, Chris Joyner, Northern Rockies Incident Command Team spokesman, told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday morning.
“You may note that we are now using ‘completion’ instead of ‘containment,’” wrote Joyner in a text message. “Our goal is full suppression but we are unable to go direct with our tactics.”
Because there are so many standing dead trees and so much beetle kill in those forests, the crews are completing indirect lines, which are at about 26% complete, he said. The figure is up 3% from Monday’s completion.
The team held a community meeting Monday evening in Dubois at the National Museum of Military Vehicles, which 98 people attended, said Joyner.
The team delivered presentations, as did the local emergency management agency, the Wyoming Department of Transportation, the U.S. Forest Service and others.
Joyner acknowledged a morning rain and snow shower Monday in the region, but said it would take 1,000 hours of rainfall to extinguish this fire, which is burrowing into the forests’ timber instead of just flashing through prairie grass.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
