It may seem a little like “Groundhog Day” for folks in Dayton and Parkman, Wyoming, on Friday.
Both small northern Wyoming communities continue to be on alert to be ready to evacuate should an uncontained 51,511-acre wildfire to the west make another run at them.
The Elk Fire started from a suspected lightning strike a week ago, and literally blew up overnight Sunday when it grew 20,000 acres and came close to Dayton. In the days since, it’s been more of the same.
It continues to be a very active, unpredictable fire with hot, dry winds capable of blowing it in just about any direction, said Kristie Thompson, a spokesperson for the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team that’s overseeing the Elk Fire. The team coordinates resources from numerous agencies.
So far, efforts continue to try and build breaks around the fire while mitigating potential harm to people and property, she said.
To that end, the fire grew about 1,000 acres Thursday, but most of that was on purpose with an unmanned aerial attack on a section of land near the Horseshoe subdivision, Thompson said.
“We used an unmanned aircraft system to pinpoint drop these little balls we call pingpong balls and we were able to pinpoint-place fires,” she said.
That was remove fuel from between a bulldozer line built at one spot along the perimeter of the fire and the subdivision.
That helps protect those properties “should the fire want to come down that mountainside,” she said.
Overall, the interagency team is throwing a lot of manpower and equipment at the Elk Fire, with 528 people, 10 helicopters, two air attack control aircraft, the unmanned aircraft system and access to air tankers as needed, Thompson said. A National Guard medevac helicopter also is on standby 24/7 if needed.
Some of the most important work continues to be performed by local firefighters, which in the rural area of the Elk Fire are mostly all-volunteer.
“These local volunteer fire departments are essential to this firefighting effort,” Thompson said. “They’ve been here from Day One, and they had some really long days, and continue to do amazing work,” Thompson said. “They have the knowledge of the land, of the people and how these fires have acted in the past.”
Not A Typical Fire
While there isn’t any model of wildfire that’s considered typical or average, the Elk Fire is unusual in many ways, according to firefighting officials.
During a Wednesday night community meeting with the interagency folks and about 800 locals, Operations Section Chief Brian Cresto remarked that in decades of fighting wildfires, this one stands out.
“This is 30 years for me in fire, and this is the latest, most active fire I’ve ever seen,” he said. “And I’ve gone on a lot of fires.”
Tongue River Fire District-Ranchester Fire Chief Jeff Barron agrees.
"I've been fighting fires since I was 16 on a volunteer department many moons ago, and to be honest, this late in the season, I've never seen anything like this," Barron told Cowboy State Daily. "For this time of year, this is a very atypical wildfire."
Along with a "huge fuel load," a series of unusual dry cold fronts is making the wind blow from all over, he said.
"This is really strange wind," he said. "Typically, we have either dry lightning or cold fronts come through with moisture. This time, we've seen at least two dry cold fronts come through with no precipitation. That's just not happening."
The weather that has made the Elk Fire so difficult to fight so far is expected to continue, Thompson said.
“We’re not calling anything contained at this point,” she said. “Especially now, we have a red flag warning starting at noon today and going all the way through tomorrow.”
Red flag means conditions are favorable for wildfires to burn and spread.
That doesn’t mean the crews don’t have anything to do. They’ll continue to build fire. Lines, removing potential fuel load or putting in sprinkler systems in some areas, Tompson said
The danger for those near the fire has also been noticed outside Wyoming.
“My prayers are with all those affected by the unprecedented Elk Fire in northern Wyoming,” U.S. Sen. John Barrasso said in a post to his Facebook page. “It’s vital that residents of Sheridan County and the surrounding areas follow the local evacuation guidelines.”
The Elk Fire in northwest Sheridan County, Wyoming, burns out of control. (Photo by Peter LaRosa, @clrarchived on Instagram) 
The Elk Fire in northwest Sheridan County, Wyoming, burns out of control. (Photo by Peter LaRosa, @clrarchived on Instagram) 
The Elk Fire in northwest Sheridan County, Wyoming, burns out of control. (Photo by Peter LaRosa, @clrarchived on Instagram)
Evacuations, Canceled Football Game
All earlier evacuations remain in place:
• Residents in Tongue River Canyon.
• People living from the X-X Ranch north to the Montana state line.
• Pass Creek and Twin Creek roads west of Parkman, as well as the canyon where the pavement turns to dirt.
• The Horseshoe subdivision.
• The towns of Parkman and Dayton are on “ready” status for the potential for evacuation.
• The area south of Twin Creek Road from Parkman north of Amsden Road and west of Highway 343 has been put on “set” status, which is just below “go,” or get out.
• Eaton’s Ranch also has been elevated to “set.”
• South of the Montana line to Highway 343, east to Interstate 90 and also to Barker Road should now get “ready” to evacuate. That includes Parkman Hills subdivision and homes west of Barker Road.
• In Dayton west of Beckton Road south to the intersection with Big Goose Road also is now on “ready” status, including the area west of Rapid Creek Road.
As for public schools in the area, Tongue River Elementary and Tongue River Middle School continue to had in-person classes, but Tongue River High School in Dayton is doing online classes this week.
“Best case scenario, staff and students are back in school on Monday with buses parked next to the school in case we ever need to evacuate,” Superintendent Jeff Jones says in a statement on the high school’s website.
But classes will remain online if the fire management team advises it, he said.
Announcements about what’s in store for local schools next week will be made Sunday afternoon.
As for the high school’s athletics teams, outside practicing is contingent on the air quality. Team may move to other areas farther east to practice if they can.
But the Tongue River Eagles won’t play Saturday’s scheduled game against Upton/Sundance because of the fire. And because they couldn’t find a spot on the schedule to make up the game, it’ll go down as a forfeit for Tongue River, which will fall to 1-4 on the season.
Although rivals on the field, the folks in Upton showed the people near the Elk Fire are in their thoughts. This was to be Upton/Sundance's homecoming game, and there was still a homecoming parade in Upton on Thursday. The local fire department displayed messages for the Tongue River area on their firetrucks in the parade.
"Prayers for Dayton Tongue River Firefighters, Students and Community," read one sign. Another signed by what appears to be local students just said, "Prayers For Dayton/Tongue River."
Contact Greg Johnson at greg@cowboystatedaily.com
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
