With firefighting crews expecting to achieve 100% containment of a stubborn 35,000-acre wildfire in northern Wyoming and southern Montana, just how devastating it’s been for people living in its path is coming into focus.
Fire managers have done an inventory of homes and property in the burn area and confirmed Thursday evening that five homes and 31 outbuildings were burned by the Short Draw Fire, which started Sept. 11 in northern Campbell County, Wyoming, about 30 miles north of Gillette.
“We are relieved that no lives were lost, and we are grateful for the incredible teamwork that ensured residents were able to evacuate safely,” said Jeff Bender, Campbell County Fire Department Fire Chief in a prepared statement. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of homes, grazing lands and the disruption to lives. Our hearts go out to everyone affected, and we stand united with the community during this difficult time.”
One of those families left without a home is Cheyenne and Jesse Raymond who returned to their home after evacuation orders were lifted to find it burned to the ground.
“I just can’t believe it’s really GONE!!!” Cheyenne posted to her public Facebook page, followed by a pair of crying emojis. “This is one of the hardest things I have ever been through, and to see my kids lose everything, not just MYSELF, but my KIDS is the hardest part.”
While devastated, she also expressed gratitude that her family and animals are safe, even as they are literally left with the clothes on their backs.
“I am just glad I got all our inside animals, and the kids were at school,” she posted. “LUCKILY when I had to leave, when I looked out the kitchen window and could see the smoke and flames.
“It was so scary, I was really hoping OUR house would make it, but we lost everything!!!”
In follow-up messages with Cowboy State Daily, Cheyenne reiterated her thanks for the generosity of the Campbell County community.
The couple have three kids, including a 9-year-old boy who is wheelchair-bound. They lost everything in the fire, including the boy’s medical devices and equipment, she said.
They also had just finished building a wheelchair ramp onto their home about two weeks before the fire, she said.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help the family.
And A Coal Seam
Along with burning through some rugged terrain with pine, juniper, grass and sagebrush, the Short Draw Fire also ignited a coal seam beneath the ground, which was discovered Monday.
Coal seams are deposits of the mineral underneath the surface that have access to air from above to keep the coal burning if it’s ignited. They are notorious for being difficult to extinguish, sometimes smoldering for years and sparking new wildfires.
There are plenty of coal seams under the Powder River Basin, and it’s not a surprise the Short Draw Fire has encountered some, Stuart Burnham, Campbell County fire marshal, told Cowboy State Daily at the time.
“In Campbell County and the Powder River Basin, there’s coal everywhere,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “So, when wildfires start and burn over an area, they may start a coal seam on fire. Then that fire can pop up at different places and at different times of the year.”
Other Fires
While much of Wyoming’s wildfire season has been most active in the northern part of the state, several southern fires have flared up over the past week, and are showing varying levels of containment.
• The newest is the Livingston Draw Fire, which is 0% contained and has burned 1,262 acres in northern Johnson County near the Campbell County border, according to the Wyoming State Forestry Division.
• In Albany County burning in rugged terrain north of Laramie is the Bear Creek Fire, which is at 1,444 acres and 90% contained, the WSFD reports.
• North of the Bear Creek Fire burning in the extreme southern part of Converse County is the La Bonte Fire, which was started Sept. 12 and has grown to nearly 3,500 acres and is 55% contained.
• And in northwest Wyoming, the stubborn Fish Creek Fire in the Bridger-Teton National Forest has burned 25,000 acres and is 79% complete. There are 354 firefighters on the fire that continues to smolder in heavy timber and dead timber and undergrowth. Highway 26 through the area and over Togwotee Pass remains open, but has been closed several times as the fire has burned close to the road.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
