DAYTON, Wyo. — Overnight, the Elk Fire grew about 409 acres and decreased the percentage of the perimeter in control of fire crews from 16% to 15%. The additional growth has also put new areas at risk that crews are working to protect. In a new update from the Bighorn National Forest Facebook page, Incident […]
Outdoors
Posted inEmergency
WYDOT extends road closures from Elk Fire
SHERIDAN, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Transportation has extended the road closure limits on US Highway 14 north of the Antelope Butte Ski Area and US 14A east of Lovell. To accommodate access to Hunt Area 40 outside of the Elk Fire closure areas west of Burgess Junction, the Wyoming Highway Patrol has moved […]
Posted inWildfire
Pack Trail Fire update: Miles of trail, roads now closed until November; crews working to reinforce rec areas
JACKSON, Wyo. — As dry and warm conditions persist, so does the Pack Trail Fire near the Bridger-Teton National Forest in northwestern Wyoming. In a newly released Facebook update, the U.S. Forest Service announced that a significant area of roads, trails and forest lands are completely closed through Nov. 1. Favorable conditions last night assisted […]
Posted inEmergency
Union Pass closes due to Pack Trail Fire growth
PINEDALE, Wyo. — With the Pack Trail Fire continuing to spread, Union Pass was recently closed from Sublette County to Dubois. At time of publication, the wildfire is reported by Bridger-Teton National Forest as spanning 58,065 acres. On Sunday, the fire continued to move south in Strawberry Basin, parallel to the Purdy Fire’s path. However, […]
Posted inOutdoors
Elk Fire impacting wildlife habitats, access to certain hunt areas
SHERIDAN, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is advising hunters that the Elk Fire in Sheridan County continues to grow, impacting wildlife habitat and access to certain hunt areas. Hunt areas impacted by the fire or associated public access closures are currently located within Elk Hunt Areas 37 and 38 and Deer Hunt […]
Posted inEmergency
Elk Fire burns 6 buildings near Dayton as residents fight to save homes
By Angus M. Thuermer Jr Residents along the east front of the Bighorn Mountains scrambled to escape the 32,000-acre Elk Fire that has burned six outbuildings, injured one firefighter and closed Highway 14 between Dayton and Burgess Junction. The fire consumed barns, outhouses and other “non-primary residential buildings,” Sheridan emergency officials reported Wednesday. The firefighter’s injuries […]
Posted inEmergency
Areas of Teton County prepare to evacuate as fires continue
JACKSON, Wyo. — Some Teton County residents are being encouraged to prepare for evacuations as wildfires continue to rage in western Wyoming. In an alert issued by Teton County Emergency Management, residents in the Upper Gros Ventre area above the Goosewing Road Junction are advised to get into the “set” phase of “ready, set, go” […]
Posted inWyoming
Gov. Gordon commits to protecting Dayton area as Elk Fire swells to 50,000 acres
By Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Gov. Mark Gordon told hundreds of worried Dayton-area residents Wednesday evening that Wyoming’s firefighting resources, including the National Guard, are available to federal managers of the 50,000-acre Elk Fire. Gordon traveled to Ranchester to address the crowd as the six-day old fire continued to expand on the Bighorn National Forest and […]
Posted inWyoming
Big Horn County issues evacuation notices as Elk Fire bears down
BASIN, Wyo. — As the Elk Fire continues to burn, Big Horn County on Friday ordered an evacuation notice for Little Horn Canyon Road from the state line to Highway 451. The announcement came in a press release, though no indication was given of when the evacuation might be lifted. In the release, the Big […]
Posted inWildfire
Unseasonable, destructive Elk Fire threatens rec areas; others safe but in ‘ready’ evac phase
DAYTON, Wyo. — Public and private infrastructure in western Sheridan County is increasingly threatened by the uncontained Elk Fire, which began with a lightning strike Friday. Officials have closed a large area, including recreational areas, but the fire has already caused destruction in several locations. At an emergency community meeting in Dayton yesterday, U.S. Forest […]
Posted inCommunity
Elk Fire grows to over 25,000 acres; air quality alerts remain in effect
Incident managers have identified national forest lands and property, including two cow camps and a radio repeater site, as assets at risk.
Posted inAnimals
The Black Hills are thick with lions. But those that leave are unlikely to repopulate the East, study finds.
by Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile The robust Black Hills mountain lion population has long been thought of as a conveyor belt of itinerant eastbound animals that will eventually culminate in Puma concolor reoccupying old haunts they were extirpated from long ago. The region’s reputation as a lion-dispersal factory is rooted in observation: Animals that have been fitted with tracking […]
Posted inOutdoors
AIS watercraft check stations to reduce hours, close for season
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Boating season in Wyoming is winding down and so are the Wyoming Game and Fish Department aquatic invasive species check stations. Check stations throughout the state will start to close or reduce hours. However, it is required that any watercraft transported into Wyoming from March 1 to Nov. 30 undergo a mandatory […]
Posted inCommunity
Structures ‘likely lost’ as 2 Wyoming wildfires grow by miles
Two Wyoming wildfires grew a combined 13 miles under high winds on Sunday, promoting more evacuation-readiness alerts.
Posted inEmergency
Searchers scour mountain, cellular data for missing Yellowstone hiker
By Joshua Wolfson The search for an overdue hiker in Yellowstone National Park stretched into its seventh day, with crews employing helicopters and cellular forensic technology in the effort to find 22-year-old Austin King. Two helicopters spent Thursday extensively searching the remote southeastern portion of the park where King was last heard from, according to an […]
Posted inWyoming
Wyoming agencies seek more grazing, drilling access via Rock Springs RMP ‘protests’
By Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile Five state agencies have filed formal protest letters with the Bureau of Land Management seeking broad changes in the administration of 3.6 million acres of public property in southwest Wyoming. Publicized in a press release from Gov. Mark Gordon, the protest letters came from the Wyoming departments of Environmental Quality, Game and Fish and […]
Posted inOutdoors
Fantastic fall fishing as weather cools in central Wyoming
CASPER, Wyo. — Walleye fishing is picking up on all the major reservoirs in the Casper Region as water temperatures decrease. Glendo Reservoir offers fall walleye fishing with the added bonus of relatively light fishing pressure. In addition, anglers often catch crappie and catfish as predators gather to feed on gizzard shad. Walleye fishing at […]
Posted inEmergency
Natrona County to be placed in fire weather watch come Sunday
CASPER, Wyo. — Meteorologists expect weather conditions to once again be ripe for forest fires, and the National Weather Service in Riverton has issued a fire weather watch for Natrona County that will remain in effect from Sunday morning through Sunday afternoon. Fire weather watches are issued when critical fire weather conditions are forecast to […]
Posted inEmergency
Yellowstone missing person search enters seventh day
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. — Search and rescue teams looking for missing Yellowstone National Park worker Austin King continue today as efforts enter their seventh day. King, an employee of Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a private business authorized to operate in Yellowstone, was reported missing after not showing up for his boat pickup near Yellowstone […]
Posted inOutdoors
BLM Buffalo to conduct prescribed burn in Johnson County
BUFFALO, Wyo. — The Bureau of Land Management has announced its intention to conduct a prescribed burn in the Beartrap Meadow area along Hazelton Road in southwest Johnson County. Burning could start within the week and may continue throughout the fall as weather and fuel conditions allow, a news release said. The BLM said all […]
Posted inOutdoors
Advocates, western governors renew push for outdoor recreation act
by Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile Advocates and western governors this month doubled down on a push to pass into law legislation aimed at improving outdoor recreation on federal lands. The Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act — a package of more than a dozen policy measures known as the EXPLORE Act — passed the House in April […]
Posted inCommunity
Red flag conditions advised for Thursday; gusty winds, low humidity forecast
CASPER, Wyo. — The National Weather Service in Riverton says unseasonably warm temperatures and strong, gusty winds on Thursday will add up to critical fire weather conditions. The red flag warning will affect much of central and eastern Wyoming, with Natrona County under an advisory from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday. Winds are expected to […]
Posted inCommunity
Mussel-fouled watercraft intercepted by Game and Fish at Wyoming border
Game and Fish says Wyoming’s waters remain free of the highly-invasive zebra mussels, which can wreak havoc on ecosystems and water infrastructure.