A Fremont County fire official said a fire inside a Burlington Northern Santa Fe locomotive sparked a 133-acre wildfire in Wind River Canyon on Saturday.
As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the Wind River Canyon Fire had burned over 100 acres on canyon’s western slopes, only a few miles north of the Boysen Dam.
Fire crews from multiple agencies responded, along with two Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe helicopters from Riverton and Casper that made water drops through the afternoon.
After hours of firefighting and aerial surveillance, officials said the fire was not believed to pose an imminent risk of spreading significantly before expected winter weather arrives Sunday and helps extinguish it.
“We do not expect the fire to travel far in any direction,” Ron Wempen, chief of the Fremont County Fire Protection District, told Cowboy State Daily. “With the aircraft and crews on the ground, they will likely have enough firefighters to manage it.”
Fire Engine
Eyewitnesses say the fire began around 8 a.m. Saturday as a BNSF train traveled south through Wind River Canyon.
Multiple witnesses reported seeing a thick column of black smoke coming from the lead diesel-electric locomotive as it moved along the railway.
“I passed through the canyon at 8:30 a.m., just after the fire started,” Nicole Weyer told Cowboy State Daily. “As we went by, the fire was moving up the canyon, and the train was stopped where it began. Farther along, we saw that the engine was also smoking.”
Mark Potter, who lives in the Wind River Canyon, said he “heard the train make strange noises” before it started billowing black smoke. He was the one who made the initial call about the wildfire when he noticed flames creeping up the canyon walls.
“It took 20 train car lengths for the train to stop,” he said. “I thought it was running its horn, but it wasn’t. When I noticed that there was a fire going, I called 911.”
"Mechanical Issue"
Wempen said the fire was started by “a mechanical issue” with the locomotive’s motor.
“They initially had a fire onboard the locomotive itself,” he said. “They moved it out to the Brannon boat ramp (at Boysen Reservoir) so we could access that with fire apparatus, but the train’s crew had that fire pretty well extinguished by the time our folks arrived.”
Stan Blake, a retired Union Pacific conductor and switchman, looked at photos and videos of the smoking locomotive and said it looked like the damage was caused by “a blown turbocharger.”
“A large, fully engulfed locomotive fire produces immense heat,” he said. “Dry trees, brush, or wooden railroad ties in close proximity to the tracks can spontaneously combust from this intense radiant heat.”
Blake also said embers from the locomotive’s exhaust may have ignited the fire. Either way, he believes the locomotive was the likely cause.
“There was a lot of black smoke coming from that locomotive,” he said. “It very well could have caused the fire.”
Ground and Air Response
By 9 a.m., the wildfire was spreading up the canyon’s western slopes. Several agencies, including the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department, responded, but their initial efforts were limited because they could not cross the river.
Wind River Canyon Whitewater then arrived with rafts and ferried seven firefighters across the river to assess the fire and begin suppression efforts.
A Rockwell Jetprop Commander 900 light aircraft provided aerial surveillance at 9,000 feet, while a Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe flew in from Central Wyoming Regional Airport to make water drops.
“The helicopter is targeting the hottest spots and flare-ups,” said Dale Andreen, chief of the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department, speaking at the scene. “Between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Fremont County Fire, we have seven firefighters on the northeast corner working the tree line and handling mop-up in that area.”
A second Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe arrived later that afternoon from Casper-Natrona International Airport to relieve the first helicopter and continue water drops across the affected area of the canyon.
By then, a Type 1 Interagency Hotshot Crew from Craig, Colorado, was on its way to assist. These crews typically include 18 to 25 highly trained firefighters who specialize in aggressive initial attacks on wildfires.
“I’m uncertain about their time of arrival,” Andreen said.
Stopped By Sunday?
According to the wildfire website Watch Duty, the Wind River Canyon Fire was 133 acres as of 12:09 p.m. No updates on its size and status have been shared since then.
Afte the initial response, Wempen said it was determined that the Wind River Canyon Fire didn’t present a huge threat of escalating in size and intensity. The aerial surveillance indicated that the fire would struggle to expand beyond the spot where it started.
“Because of the rock, limited vegetation in most of the area, and the canyon’s terrain, the fire doesn’t pose too much risk of traveling too far in any direction,” he said. “The rock outcroppings and the canyon itself are keeping it somewhat contained.”
The fire was being managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as it was burning on the Wind River Reservation. They were being assisted by equipment and personnel the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department and the Fremont County Fire Protection District throughout the day.
Wempen expected the seven-person hand crew and Craig Hotshots to stay on the scene for at least another 36 hours until there was a “significant change” in the situation. Fortunately, that change was already on the horizon.
“That area is forecasted to receive precipitation starting throughout the day Sunday and overnight,” he said. “I'm sure the crews will work on that until that point in time.”
The National Weather Service has already issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the southwest Bighorn Basin and Cody Foothills from 6 p.m. Sunday to 6 p.m. Monday.
Up to 3 inches of snow is expected in that 12-hour period, with overnight lows around 30 degrees in Thermopolis.
With the ongoing on-the-ground suppression efforts and aerial water drops, and the natural obstacles slowing its spread, Wempen believes Sunday’s weather should be enough to get the Wind River Canyon Fire contained, if not fully extinguished.
“With the aircraft and crews they have, plus the incoming Craig Hotshot crew, they probably are going to have adequate firefighters to manage that,” he said. “I don’t expect the fire to be too much of an issue after that.”
The following is Cowboy State Daily's live coverage of the fire (which includes photos and videos) on Saturday:
Fire crews are battling an estimated 133-acre fire on the western side of the Wind River Canyon.
Witnesses say the fire started Saturday morning at around 8:00 a.m. next to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line.
Cowboy State Daily reporter Jackie Dorothy is at the scene of the fire and is providing information as it becomes available. Andrew Rossi is remotely working on the fire story from Cody.
3:30pm Update
As of 3:30 p.m., the response to the Wind River Canyon Fire has been somewhat scaled down.
The Rockwell Jetprop Commander 900 that had been doing aerial surveillance of the fire started flying back to Casper–Natrona County International Airport around 2:10 p.m.
Meanwhile, a second Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe helicopter departed from Casper at 1:46 p.m. to relieve the Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe that had initially responded to the fire.
The second helicopter resumed water drops around 2:45 p.m. By then, the first helicopter was already back at Central Wyoming Regional Airport in Riverton.
Dale Andreen, fire chief of the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department, told Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy that a Type 1 Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) was en route from Craig, Colorado, to assist with the containment and suppression of the fire.
A typical Type 1 IHC consists of 18 to 25 highly trained and experienced firefighters that are trained for initial on-the-ground attacks on wildfires. They will join the seven-person crew already on-site to continue containing and suppressing the fire.
“I’m uncertain about their time of arrival,” he said. “We still have engines from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Fremont County Fire Protection District keeping an eye out for flare-ups.”
Andreen also had several of his volunteers stationed on the southeastern edge of the Arapaho Ranch, working on fire lines and suppressing hot spots to head off the flames before they reached that far.
There hasn’t been an update on the fire’s size since 12:09 p.m. It was last reported at 133 acres, 12.3 mile south of Thermopolis.
Ron Wempen, Fremont County Fire Protection District Chief, expected the responding fire crews and incoming Hotshots to remain on-site for the next 36 to 48 hours. By then, the fire should be mostly or completely extinguished thanks to incoming winter weather.
“That area is forecasted to receive precipitation throughout the day and overnight tomorrow,” he said. “I'm sure the crews will work on that until that point in time.”
1:30 p.m. Update
Dale Andreen, fire chief of the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department, told Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy that a crew of seven firefighters was fighting the Wind River Canyon Fire from the ground while the Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe helicopter worked from above.
“The helicopter is trying to knock down the heavy hot spots and flare-ups,” he said. “Between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Fremont County Fire, we have seven (firefighters) stationed on the northeast corner working the tree lines and doing some mop up in that area.”
Ron Wempen, Fremont County Fire Protection District Chief, told Cowboy State Daily that the fire was caused by a mechanical issue with the BNSF locomotive’s motor.
“They had some kind of mechanical issue as they were coming through the canyon,” he said. “Initially, they had a fire on board the locomotive itself, so they moved it out to the Brannan area so we could access it with a fire apparatus.”
Wempen said the locomotive’s crew had mostly extinguished the fire by the time his team arrived.
The fire is currently being managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, since it’s on the Wind River Reservation. Wempen said a Type 1 Hotshot crew was en route to the incident and expected to arrive sometime Saturday afternoon.
“With the aircraft and the crews that they've got there on the ground, in conjunction with the Hotshot hand crew coming, they are probably going to have adequate firefighters to manage it.”
As of 1:30 p.m., the size of the fire hadn’t been updated for over an hour. Wempen said the last update he received was that the fire remained around 133 acres.
Information from the Rockwell Jetprop Commander 900 aircraft doing aerial surveillance over the area indicated that the fire shouldn't grow or spread much more than it already has.
“With the rock, the lack of vegetation in most of that area, and the terrain of the canyon, (the pilot) relayed to us that he did not feel the fire was going to travel too far in any direction,” Wempen said.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the southern Bighorn Basin starting at 6 p.m. Sunday. Wempen believes that should be enough to fully extinguish the fire, along with the ongoing efforts of the fire crews at the scene.
“They'll stay there with that fire until something significant changes,” he said. “That area is forecasted to receive precipitation throughout the day and overnight tomorrow, but I'm sure the crews will work on that until that point in time.”
Andreen thanked Wind River Canyon Whitewater for transporting fire crews across the river while they waited for aerial support. He described the terrain where the fire is burning as “dangerous” for all personnel involved, meaning they’ll have to stay on their toes at all times.
“It's in very steep, rocky terrain with a lot of juniper timber and not real steady ground,” he said. “We've got fire continuously flaring up below where the crews are at, so they've got to be cognizant of that. They’ve got to be watching their footing and keeping an eye out.”
1:00 p.m. Update
One of the two helicopters, a Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe, had reached the Wind River Canyon Fire by 12:35 p.m. It proceeded to do several water drops, filling its bucket at Boysen Reservoir. (See video below).
The second helicopter had yet to reach the incident.
The Rockwell Jetprop Commander 900 aircraft that had been doing aerial surveillance of the fire for several hours continuing circling overhead.
As of 1 p.m., the fire’s size was still reported at 133 acres.
12:30 p.m. Update
According to the wildfire website Watch Duty, the Wind River Canyon Fire was around 133 acres and moving to the north as of 12:15 p.m. Radio traffic indicated some of the units that responded to the fire had been “released” short before noon.
Brandon Blakesly with the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department told Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy that the fire had yet to reach the southeastern edge of the Arapaho Ranch. Several firefighters were stationed there to fight the flames once they reached the rim. (See photos below).
Local landowner Mark Potter, who was on the scene of the fire from the beginning, said two helicopters were enroute to do coordinated water drops.
Cowboy State Daily was unable to confirm which agencies sent the helicopters.
A Rockwell Jetprop Commander 900 aircraft has been doing aerial surveillance of the fire at an altitude of roughly 9,000 feet. The registered owner of the fixed-wing aircraft is Spur Aviation Services out of Twin Falls, Idaho.
By 12:30 p.m. the fixed-wing aircraft had ended its surveillance and started flying south.
At the same time, a Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe had left Central Wyoming Regional Airport in Riverton and was enroute to the Wind River Canyon.
Wind River Canyon Fire from the Arapaho Ranch. Fire has not yet reached the rim. (Reader photo: Thermopolis volunteer firefighter Brandon Blakesly) 
Wind River Canyon Fire from the Arapaho Ranch. Fire has not yet reached the rim. (Thermopolis volunteer firefighter Brandon Blakesly) 
Wind River Canyon Fire from the Arapaho Ranch. Fire has not yet reached the rim. (Reader photo: Thermopolis volunteer firefighter Brandon Blakesly)
12:00 p.m. Update
Stan Blake, a retired Union Pacific conductor and switchman who spent 31 years on the rails in Wyoming, said there was “an awful lot of black smoke” coming out of the BNSF locomotive before the fire was reported.
“It looks like a blown turbocharger," Blake said.
He said the fire “definitely could have been caused” by that locomotive.
“A large, fully engulfed locomotive fire produces immense heat,” Blake said. “Dry trees, brush, or wooden railroad ties in close proximity to the tracks can spontaneously combust from this intense radiant heat.”
He added that sparks from dragging equipment are also a common source of railroad fires.
“Embers from the fire could be culprit,” he said. “They can come from the locomotive’s exhaust.”
Cowboy State Daily attempted to reach the BLM Worland Field Office to discuss its response to the fire, but were unable to reach them as of 11:45 a.m.
Jackie Dorothy reports that a second hot shot crew will be on the scene in the next hour.
The video (immediately below) was submitted by Fremont County resident Liz Lightner and has a time stamp of 8:10 a.m. on Saturday morning.
11:30 a.m. Update
Cowboy State Daily's Jackie Dorothy reports that some firefighters have went up to Arapaho Ranch, a 300,000 to 450,000-acre tribally-owned cattle operation managed by the Northern Arapaho Tribe in north-central Wyoming, to fight the blaze from the rim.
Dorothy says the official address of the fire is 1464 Highway 20 South.
Dorothy spoke with eyewitness Mark Potter, who owns land in the area. He said the Wind River Canyon Rafting company floated two hot shot crews across the river.
"They're heading up over the tracks now," Potter said.
Dorothy reports a plane, under the direction of the Thermopolis firefighters, is circling overhead is coordinating all the efforts for the fire.
"They've got two helicopters on call and they will be doing some water drops," Potter said.
The fire appears to be moving south, Potter added, with a couple hot spots on the north side.
"We're definitely making progress," Potter said.
Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi had a conversation with former Union Pacific conductor Stan Blake who said photos of the BNSF locomotive "show an awful lot of black smoke but that's not necessarily unusual."
No new information from the Hot Springs Sheriff's office or the BLM.
11 a.m. Update
Cowboy State Daily's Jackie Dorothy, who is in the Wind River Canyon across from the fire, said air support is arriving.
Dorothy also said Mark Potter, an eyewitness to the fire, said he "heard the train make strange noises and it caught on fire. It took 20 train car lengths to stop."
According to the Watch Duty website, a site dedicated to following wildfires across the nation, the Wind River Canyon fire has burned around 75 acres north of the Fremont County line.
Sady Mounts, Hot Springs County emergency management coordinator, confirmed that the BLM had fire crews incoming, but didn’t have any additional information on the fire’s size and status.
“At this point, it’s out of our hands,” she said.
10:30 a.m. Update
Witnesses say the train is no longer in the immediate area and a rafting company arrived to "ferry firemen across to the other side" in an effort to help put the fire out.
Hand crews from the Bureau of Land Management were also on the scene, and air support was incoming.
The Thermopolis Police Department said it was “well aware of the BNSF fire” in the Wind River Canyon but had no further information.
9:30 a.m. Update
Dale Andreen, fire chief of the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department, who was at the scene of the fire, told Cowboy State Daily he would “hopefully” be able to get firefighters on-site “within an hour.”
“We got a contact from the Bureau of Indian Affairs that said they’ve got orders for a hand crew,” he said.
“Right now, there’s no good way to get across (the river) with tools and everything. Hopefully, they'll be here within an hour. Otherwise, we just have to wait on air support.”
Several oil tankers were stopped within a few yards of the rapidly spreading flames.
Train On Fire
Thermopolis resident Shaniya Smith was heading south through the canyon at 9:06 a.m. when she spotted the fire. By then, the fire was well underway.”
“From what I saw, a train caught fire, and they unhooked its cars,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “When the cars were unhooked, the driver made it all the way to Boysen.”
Once she got out of the canyon, Smith spotted the GE Dash 9-44CW diesel-electric locomotive she believes started the fire, stopped near the Boysen Reservoir Marina. It was being actively hosed down by a fire engine.
“We passed so many firetrucks on their way (to the scene), but I don’t know if they’re getting to it directly because it’s across the river,” she said.
Mark Potter was the one who called in the fire after noticing the flames and smoke billowing from the canyon.
“I saw the train coming up, and heard it making a funny noise,” Potter said. “I thought it was running its horn, and it wasn’t. As I was loading some trash to take to a dumpster, I noticed there was a fire going on, so I got on the phone and called it in.”
Another witness, Nicole Weyer, said she spotted a smoking locomotive engine at 8:30 a.m. and submitted a photo. She and her husband were traveling to a high school track competition in Shoshoni.
"We drove back right when it started before any fire people even got there. I took the photo as we drove by," she said.
Nicole Weyer told Cowboy State Daily she noticed this smoking locomotive engine at 8:30 a.m. when she and her husband were traveling to Shoshoni. (Reader photo: Nicole Weyer) 
(Reader photo: Shaniya Smith) 
Reader photo: Shaniya Smith 
Reader photo: Shaniya Smith 
(Reader photo: Shaniya Smith)
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is available.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com and Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
