As the Elk Fire burning near the Wyoming-Montana border continues to grow and push southeast along the face of the Bighorn Mountains, firefighting priorities have shifted to being offensive in attacking the wildfire instead of reacting to it.
“That’s a great mental boost” for the nearly 900 firefighters and support personnel attached to the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team in charge of fighting the Elk Fire, said Kristie Thompson, a spokesperson for the team.
“People engaged in firefighting want to be on the offensive,” she said. “We don’t want to be reactive if we don’t have to be. That’s where we are right now.”
The fire grew to about 76,000 acres by Wednesday morning with 16% containment reported, mostly on the northwest front of the fire.
To the southeast, however, firefighting efforts are being redoubled as the fire continues to advance, including toward Big Goose Canyon and the city of Sheridan’s water treatment facility that’s stationed there.
At about 3 a.m. Wednesday, high winds pushed the fire toward the treatment plant, the incident management team reports.
“Fire behavior increased significantly northwest of the Big Goose Water Treatment Plant,” the report says. “Nearby resources working the night shift — one dozer, one hotshot crew and eight engines — responded to the area.”
Now that the towns of Dayton and Parkman seem to be out of danger, the treatment plant has become a top priority for protection, Thompson said.
“Since that is the watershed for the water for the town of Sheridan, we want to be able to control the intensity and spread of the fire instead of the fire coming raging down the mountain,” she said.
That means in the coming days as weather conditions allow, firefighters will do some strategic burning within the fire area to get rid of fuels for potential spread toward the water treatment plant, Thompson said.
On the western front of the fire, people can expect to see more smoke in some areas as strategic burning increases, she said.
The Elk Fire burning in northern Wyoming has been most active pushing southwest. A main priority is protecting the Big Goose Water Treatment Plant, which serves the city of Sheridan. (Wyoming State Forestry Division) 
Locals around Dayton, Parkman and western Sheridan County are showing their appreciation for the hundreds of firefighters and support personnel fighting the Elk Fire. (Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team) 
A brightly colored line of fire retardant is placed to help curb the spread of the Elk Fire., (Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team) 
The latest map showing the boundaries of the Elk Fire in northern Wyoming shows where it's achieved containment, which is about 16% overall. The solid black border reflects where the fire has been contained. (Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team)
Looking Ahead
For Wednesday and Thursday, the team expects to continue to achieve more containment and control of the Elk Fire, but the unusually hot and dry weather could make that difficult, Thompson said.
“Unseasonably hot, dry conditions will peak on Wednesday,” the team reports. “Winds will be from the southwest with gusts up to 20 mph expected.
“Vegetation is extremely dry and receptive to burning. Fire activity and smoke production are likely to increase on the fire’s western and southern sides.”
Getting more control of the fire also is good for folks who live along Slack and Pass Creek roads between Twin Creek Road from the Montana border. They’re being allowed to go back home with their “go” evacuation order lifted.
Up-to-date evacuation order changes are posted by the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office online.
The best and most current information about the Elk Fire is being posted to the U.S. Forest Service-Bighorn National Forest and Sheridan County Government Facebook pages.
Another community meeting on the Elk Fire is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Big Horn High School.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
