High winds helped fan a fire that burned a Lander wood shop to the ground on Wednesday, and also threatened nearby homes.
It’s the sixth fire in the central Wyoming city so far this year, double what firefighters typically respond to in an entire year.
For rural fire departments, that also means responding to emergencies involving people they know, which a Lander fire chief said leads to firefighters taking their jobs "very personally."
Lander and Fremont County firefighters spent five hours battling the wind-driven wood shop fire that threatened other homes and structures on the north side of town.
Fremont County Fire Protection District Chief Ron Wempen said there about 50 firefighters from six departments helped keep the fire from spreading to other properties.
‘Fully Involved'
The fire in the structure off North Lane on the northern outskirts of Lander was called in Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. by a Fremont County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was on patrol.
Wempen said both Fremont County Fire Protection District’s Lander Rural Fire Department, as well as Lander Volunteer Fire Department which serves the city, were dispatched.
“I would say that it was a moderate-sized structure, about 30 by 50 feet, but was already fully involved by the time a sheriff’s deputy saw the smoke,” Wempen said. “Of course, the area over there had the wind blowing.
"It was an older log-type structure and the fire spread pretty easily and extremely rapidly within it.”
The chief said grasses and vegetation along Popo Agie Creek nearby caught on fire, which was contained within a couple of acres.
But at least a dozen homes and other properties nearby were definitely at risk because of the high winds.
Other departments were called for assistance to keep the wind gusts from spreading the fire. Those included Riverton, Fort Washakie, Hudson, and Morton Kinnear that all sent trucks and firefighters.
Wempen said in addition to the homes, commercial buildings within a quarter-mile of the blazing shop were at risk.
On the shop’s property were another garage and two houses, he said, adding that damage was contained just to the shop that burned.
The shop owner used it to build things out logs and wood, Wempen said.
Attempts to reach the owners were not successful.
Six Structure Fires This Year
The fire was the third in recent weeks for the Lander Volunteer Fire Department.
Family homes burned in the city on Dupont Street on March 12 and April 13 on Vance Drive.
Lander Volunteer Fire Department Administrator Chris Johnson said already this year his crews have had six structure fires. They typically have three or four for an entire year.
“It’s just random things popping up,” he said. “They’ve all been accidental.”
Both Johnson and Wempen agreed what is challenging is that in addition to the fire issues, the past three blazes have included a “weather event.”
With both Lander homes and the shop being totally destroyed despite the best efforts and timely responses of firefighters, Wempen and Johnson agree the winds made those fires worse.
“All three of these structures that have been destroyed basically in town there, the major, major influence has been the wind,” Wempen said. “In all three instances we have had high winds when that happened.”
The fire on Dupont Street had 70 mph winds and the fire on Vance Drive had winds at 40 mph, Wempen said.
Wednesday morning, a storm front was coming in off the Wind River Mountains and the wind was blowing hard when the fire ignited, he said.
“Typically, we don’t have that hard wind, but that is what our firemen are up against right now,” Wempen said. “It’s extremely tough to do.”
Wempen said the shop fire remains under investigation but all signs point to a cause that was “accidental.”
The shop, which contained tools and woodworking equipment, is a total loss.
Taking Calls ‘Personally'
As firefighters respond to calls all across Fremont County, they take their roles of trying to save the homes and property of their neighbors and people many of them know “very personally,” Wempen said.
“They are a volunteer, and part of being a volunteer is that they do it for their community,” he said. “They’re not doing it for pay.
"The biggest thing is that they are doing it for their communities, their neighbors and their friends.”
Wempen said when a response involves someone a firefighter knows it can be “taxing,” but is also part of the “drive” they have because a neighbor needs help.
When the call went out for the shop fire on Wednesday, both the Lander Rural Fire Department and the city-based Lander Volunteer Fire Department responded, even though the jurisdiction at the time was unclear.
Johnson said for his department, a response reflects the “dedication of being a fireman.”
“We just want to help out our fellow neighbors and the public,” he said. “They rely on us when they have fires and we are pretty professional and our motivation is to just try and save as much property and protect lives as we can.”
Comments on social media revealed the Lander community’s understanding of the efforts involved to keep the fire Wednesday from spreading.
“You guys have been pulled in so many directions the last few weeks and it’s such a dry year,” Layla Haberman wrote on the Lander Volunteer Fire Department’s Facebook page. “Thank you for all you do to keep our little town and its people safe.”
Cindy Kirkpatrick was one of many who echoed those sentiments, thanking the firefighters and all others involved in keeping the flames contained to the shop structure.
“With the high winds today, it’s a miracle,” she said.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
