Another day, another fire in Shoshone National Forest where quick action by fire personnel prevented another spark from growing into an inferno.
On Thursday, July 29, Shoshone National Forest fire personnel responded to a report of smoke on the Wind River Ranger District near Dubois. The lightning-strike fire was located near the Wolf Creek Trailhead.
“After fire personnel arrived in the area, they quickly obtained a visual location of the fire and hiked in to find a single tree and surrounding ground had been ignited by lightning,” said Wind River District Ranger Jeff von Kienast. “We were fortunate to have Forest Service personnel in the area as the weather system passed through. They discovered and reported the fire, which kept it from increasing in size given our current dry fuel conditions.”
As of Saturday, June 30, the fire has been contained and remains a 1/10th of an acre in size with “limited creeping and smoldering activity in heavy dead and downed timber.” Fire crews are continuing mop-up operations and plan to continue patrols in the area.
This is the fourth lightning-strike fire in Shoshone National Forest this summer, all caught quickly and prevented from growing larger.
The forest’s first fire of 2021 was reported west of Meeteetse on the afternoon of Monday, July 19. It originated half a mile from the Timber Creek Ranger Station in the Greybull Ranger District.
On Tuesday, July 20, Shoshone National Forest and the Dubois Volunteer Fire Department responded to a report of smoke in the Brent Creek area on the Wind River Ranger District.
Then, on Wednesday, July 21, firefighters responded to the report of a new fire in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area on the Clarks Fork Ranger District. That fire is located within the wilderness area 1/2 mile east of Willow Park.
All of these fires were started by lightning and contained to less than a 10th of an acre. This is thanks to rapid responses from forest fire personnel.
Shoshone National Forest continues to enforce Stage One Fire Restrictions, banning certain activities. These restrictions minimize the chances of a human-caused wildfire.
