A wildfire continues to burn out of control and threatens buildings and at least one Bighorn Basin oil field in rugged terrain about 11 miles east of Thermopolis.
The Red Canyon Fire has exploded to more than 50,000 acres since it was started by lightning Wednesday afternoon. A Type 3 incident management team is fighting the blaze, according to the Watch Duty fire-tracking app and the National Interagency Fire Center.
It had been estimated at about 20,000 acres Thursday evening, but a Friday morning update says acreage consumed by the fire has more than doubled. It's also expanded beyond Hot Springs County and into Washakie County as well.
The fire also has prompted evacuations, including an oil field where workers called in the fire to authorities after seeing the lightning strike, said Brayden Harvey of Thermopolis, who was working in the field at the time.
Then all they could do was watch as the wildfire grew and spread, he told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
“We work up on Black Mountain, and the mountain’s probably about 2,000 feet higher than the area around it,” he said, adding that gave them a good vantage point. “We saw the lightning strike at about 1 o’clock (Wednesday) and my coworker called it in.”
While there are a few homes and the oil field in the area, he said the region is pretty remote and hard to access other than Black Mountain Road and a few connectors that tie into it.
“It hit out in the middle of nowhere, and the wind was blowing like crazy, so it spread pretty fast,” Harvey said.
There was nothing the oil field workers could do other than shut off all the equipment and secure it.
“We pretty much shut off what we needed to shut off, then sat and watched the fire,” he said. “It’s kind of 50-50 seeing that, between amazing and scary. It’s crazy, because it was really cool to watch, but also scary.”
Harvey emphasized that by “really cool,” he meant the scope of what was unfolding in front of them, not that he thought it was good in any way.
50,000 Acres
As the Type 3 team gets settled and is able to do a more detailed assessment of the fire, the available information is spotty.
The National Interagency Fire Center estimates the size of the Red Canyon Fire at about 50,000 acres and growing, with 0% containment.
The agency reported Friday that the fire is burning mostly grass and brush, and is exhibiting “extreme fire behavior with running, spotting and wind-driven runs.”
The Hot Springs County Sheriff’s Office also posted an update.
“There is an active fire in the area of Kirby Creek Road and Black Mountain Road,” the agency reports. “The last update is that the fire is staying south of Black Mountain Road. There is also active fire in the area of Buffalo Creek Road east of Ditch Creek.
“The fire appears to have crossed the road and is heading southeast right now.”
People are urged to stay out of the fire area and are reminded not to call 911 to report the fire, “unless you need immediate assistance.”
Along with monitoring the fire, the sheriff’s office has helped with the evacuation of the area in the potential path of the fire. A temporary shelter has been set up for those people at the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department.
Other Fires
There are at least two other significant wildfires burning in the northern part of Wyoming.
The Sleeper Ranch fire near Badger Creek Basin northeast of Meeteetse also has shown considerable growth and is now an estimated 12,000 acres, the National Interagency Fire Center reports.
The Spring Creek Fire southeast of Ten Sleep has burned an estimated 2,500 acres so far.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
