A wildfire started Saturday morning on the western side of the Wind River Canyon right next to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line.
It appeared to be rapidly spreading and burning its way up the canyon wall.
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.
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.
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.
