Firefighters worked through the night burning, digging and flying an increasingly aggressive fight against the Moonshine Fire, only to wake Thursday to another problem barreling across the Laramie Range: Wind.
The lightning-caused wildfire about 17 miles southwest of Wheatland has swelled to an estimated 3,458 acres and remains 0% contained, with more than 150 people now assigned to the fire.
A Red Flag Warning was in effect through 8 p.m. Thursday, with west winds of 15 to 25 mph and gusts potentially reaching 40 to 45 mph. Similar winds are expected Friday.
The fire has been burning since Sunday through steep timber, grass and brush in rugged country along the Albany-Platte county line. By Wednesday night, the federal incident system described its behavior as “active — torching,” with fire rapidly spreading through available fuels.
And despite four days of firefighting, one significant question remains unanswered.
Moonshine Fire officials told Cowboy State Daily at 10 a.m. Thursday that it remains “unknown” whether any structures have been lost or compromised.
Late Wednesday, the incident team had told Cowboy State Daily that four structures were directly threatened.
Thursday's fire plan makes clear that protecting those structures — along with ranching and grazing land — remains a priority.
‘You Could Kind Of Taste It’
About 12 miles from the fire, on Palmer Canyon, Summer Whelchel said "You could taste it" when she woke up Thursday.
The smoke brought headaches and burning eyes, she said.
Whelchel watched the fire from her home the preceding nights. She said she could see flames burning across the top of the mountain Tuesday night, and by Wednesday it was hard to see through the smoke.
She's not worried about the fire reaching her own home. Open country separates her from the mountains, although the tinder-dry conditions are impossible to ignore.
Her concern is farther up in the Laramie Range, where ranches and the people trying to protect them are much closer to the fire.
She said the response looked much like it does when trouble hits any small Wyoming community. People have offered food, water and supplies and asked what firefighters need.
“Like in every small community, there’s a good amount of support for the people that are on the front lines,” Whelchel said.
She has watched bulldozers heading toward the fire.
Her hope Thursday was that crews get the upper hand.
Kennedy Ranch
A local report Wednesday described an especially close call for firefighters at a location referred to as the “Kennedy place,” but Kennedy Ranch owner Kelly Kennedy told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that the Moonshine Fire is not close to his ranch and his property is fine.
Kennedy said his understanding is that the fire is burning on property belonging to longtime Wheatland physician Dr. Willard Woods.
That echoes what another area resident told Cowboy State Daily Wednesday, although fire officials have not identified the private properties affected by the blaze.
Cowboy State Daily has attempted to reach Woods for confirmation.
Through The Night
Wednesday's winds had already given firefighters a preview of what they are up against.
Crews spent the day building primary containment lines, protecting structures, and assessing critical infrastructure. As afternoon winds picked up and the fire became more active, firefighters turned to tactical firing operations — deliberately burning vegetation under controlled conditions to rob the wildfire of fuel.
They kept at it after dark.
Those overnight operations were successful, fire managers reported Thursday, establishing what they called a “critical anchor point” from which crews can build containment.
Still, not a foot of the fire's perimeter was officially listed as contained.
Heavy equipment is being used along the southern and eastern edges, with firefighters working away from the active flame front. An incident management update said crews planned Thursday to continue pushing a dozer line north while making a more direct attack along the fire's northern and western sides, from Government Peak along the Laramie River.
The terrain has complicated nearly every part of the fight. The fire is chewing through timber with a grassy understory and brush, much of it in country difficult for engines and heavy equipment to reach, per the Wyoming State Forestry Division.
40,000 Gallons And Counting
The Moonshine Fire turned the Casper Airtanker Base into a revolving door Wednesday.
Starting around 9:30 a.m., large airtankers and Single Engine Air Tankers began cycling through the base — loading, launching toward the Moonshine Fire, returning and heading back out.
By day's end, the base reported dispatching more than 30 loads and pumping more than 40,000 gallons of retardant in support of firefighters on the ground.
The city of Torrington reported that four Super Scoopers were among the aircraft deployed Wednesday, refilling at Grayrocks Reservoir before returning to the fire.
Torrington alerted residents that the plume and haze visible in that area were coming from the Moonshine Fire far to the west.
Close Call
For some of those local firefighters, the danger has already gotten painfully close.
The Platte County Record-Times reported that Tim Walker, with the Laramie Peak Fire Zone, said Curran Irvine and Kelby Walker were caught in a burnout while working to protect the Kennedy ranch in an area known locally as “the Kitchen.”
Walker told the newspaper their efforts helped keep the ranch standing. Irvine and Kelby Walker were doing well despite what he described as “scorched eyes and lungs.”
Cowboy State Daily reached a member of Walker's family Thursday morning who said Tim Walker and Kelby Walker were actively working the fire and unavailable for interviews.
Cowboy State Daily also tried to reach the Kennedy ranch Thursday to independently confirm what happened and whether the property suffered damage, but did not receive a response by publication time.
The uncertainty comes a day after the Wyoming Type 3 Incident Management Team told Cowboy State Daily at least four structures were directly threatened.
Boots On The Ground
The ranks fighting the Moonshine Fire continue to grow.
The Yoder Volunteer Fire Department sent six firefighters Wednesday night, along with an engine, fire-equipped UTV and chase truck — a package the department calls a “Super Mod.”
Western States Wildland Fire Academy has sent another eight firefighters.
Those crews join a sprawling interagency response that has included local departments, Wyoming State Forestry, federal firefighters, hotshot crews, heavy equipment, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
The Wyoming Type 3 Incident Management Team took command of the fire at 11 a.m. Wednesday, with Frederick Tucker serving as incident commander and Peter Freire as an incident commander trainee.
Power supplied by Wheatland Rural Electric Association also remains shut off in the fire area for firefighter safety as of Thursday morning.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
