Wyoming

Northern Wyoming Wildfire Spreads To 5,000-Plus Acres, Forces…

Published

1 year ago

August 22, 2024

Northern Wyoming Wildfire Spreads To 5,000-Plus Acres, Forces…

A fire in northern Wyoming that exploded Wednesday to more than 5,000 acres has displaced about 10 families and shut down Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Gillette, an emergency management coordinator said.

The fire started around 11 a.m. or noon Wednesday south of Buffalo near Crook Road, Johnson County Emergency Management Coordinator Jimmy Cataline told Cowboy State Daily in an afternoon phone call.

That’s a rural area with a mini-community of between 10 and 15 houses around Deer Trail, plus farm, ranch and public lands, Cataline added.

High winds whipped up the flames across the dry fields. Pushing northeast, the fire grew rapidly and crossed over Interstate 90 toward Deer Creek.

Evacuate

Authorities gave evacuation orders, with Johnson County Sheriff’s deputies, Buffalo police officers and Bureau of Land Management rangers visiting homes door-to-door to deliver the message.

A shelter is now open at the Bomber Mountain Civic Center in downtown Buffalo, Cataline said.

As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, no one had taken refuge there. Cataline said some locals have been offering to help with food, water or other accommodations. Animals are welcome at the animal shelter and livestock or other pets are also welcome at the Johnson County fairgrounds, he said.

“I don’t have numbers on how many people have been evacuated because nobody’s come here,” said Cataline of the shelter.

Because the fire has crossed Interstate 90 (at around mile marker 72), the Wyoming Highway Patrol has closed the interstate between Buffalo and Gillette temporarily.

Cataline said personnel are diverting traffic up an old state highway that connected Sheridan and Gillette before the interstate and “up some smaller backroads.”

Johnson County Fire, Powder River Fire, Buffalo Fire, Story Fire and BLM Fire all are responding to fight the blaze, he said.

“The coordinated team effort going on among all those groups, and how quick to action they were is exceptional,” Cataline said. “The fire hasn’t slowed down and neither have they.”

Firefighters hope for the wind to die down this evening, and with a chance of rain.

“We’re all doing a rain dance now,” said the emergency coordinator.

Cataline said he does not yet know the fire’s cause, though some are blaming lightning.

Johnson County Fire Control could not be reached immediately Wednesday.

Forecast Not Encouraging

Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day said Wednesday’s forecast isn’t encouraging. The wind should abate a little after dark, but the region will be warm and breezy again starting Thursday.

“There are showers and thunderstorms out there, but they’re more to the east – the South Dakota border, more towards Newcastle, Sundance – those areas,” said Day.

Chances of rain in Buffalo are low.

Day said he didn’t have exact lightning data at his fingertips, nor could he pinpoint the fire’s cause, but there was lightning activity in the area around the time the fire started.

Contact Clair McFarland at clair@cowboystatedaily.com

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Travels to Face Utah State For 93rd Meeting – SweetwaterNOW

Published

12 hours ago

January 28, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Travels to Face Utah State For 93rd Meeting – SweetwaterNOW

LARAMIE — Wyoming heads back on the road Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. Mountain West matchup at Utah State, marking the 93rd all-time meeting between the longtime conference rivals.

The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Fans can listen to the game across the Cowboy Sports Network’s 26 radio affiliates with Keith Kelley calling play-by-play and Kevin McKinney providing color commentary. In Sweetwater County, you can listen to the game on KUGR 104.9 FM

The Cowboys enter the contest at 12-8 overall and 3-6 in conference play after a 66-62 home win over San Jose State on Saturday. Wyoming is averaging 79.6 points per game, fourth in the Mountain West, while allowing 72.2 points per contest. The Cowboys are shooting 47 percent from the field and lead the conference at 37.5 rebounds per game, including more than 12 offensive rebounds per outing.

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Utah State comes in with a 16-3 overall record and a 7-2 mark in league play. The Aggies lead the Mountain West in scoring at 83.7 points per game and are allowing 68.3 points per night. Utah State is shooting 51 percent from the field, one of the top marks nationally and best in the conference, while holding opponents to 41 percent. The Aggies also average 17.7 assists per game.

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Wyoming is led by Leland Walker, who is averaging 15.1 points per game along with a team-high 3.7 assists per contest, ranking fifth in the conference. Walker scored a career-high 30 points against Boise State last week. Nasir (Naz) Meyer is contributing 13.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. Khaden Bennett is averaging 9.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and ranks fourth in the Mountain West at better than 85 percent from the free throw line.

Utah State’s MJ Collins leads the Mountain West in scoring at 19.3 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from beyond the arc with 42 made 3-pointers. Mason Falslev adds 16.5 points per game and a team-high 5.9 rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the field.

Wyoming is 18-25 all-time at Utah State, with its last win in Logan coming in 2022. The Aggies won both meetings last season, with the two games decided by a combined seven points.

Wyoming returns home Saturday to host Colorado State in the first edition of the Border War at 7:30 p.m. inside the Arena-Auditorium.

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Wyoming

Sage-grouse local working groups swiftly disbanded by Game and Fish

Published

24 hours ago

January 27, 2026

Press Room

Sage-grouse local working groups swiftly disbanded by Game and Fish

WYOMING — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has announced that it is retiring the Sage-Grouse Local Working Groups (LWG) as of Jan. 31, just one month after the Trump administration released a Greater Sage-grouse Resource Management Plan Amendment for Wyoming. “The LWGs were a direct response to the 2003 Wyoming Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan,” the […]

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Wyoming

Utah State faces Wyoming following Collins’ 20-point outing

Published

2 days ago

January 27, 2026

Press Room

Utah State faces Wyoming following Collins’ 20-point outing

Wyoming Cowboys (12-8, 3-6 MWC) at Utah State Aggies (16-3, 7-2 MWC)

Logan, Utah; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Utah State plays Wyoming after Michael Collins Jr. scored 20 points in Utah State’s 65-61 victory over the Colorado State Rams.

The Aggies are 7-1 in home games. Utah State scores 83.7 points while outscoring opponents by 15.4 points per game.

The Cowboys are 3-6 in conference matchups. Wyoming ranks third in the MWC with 34.5 rebounds per game led by Nasir Meyer averaging 5.2.

Utah State scores 83.7 points, 11.5 more per game than the 72.2 Wyoming allows. Wyoming averages 7.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.2 more makes per game than Utah State allows.

The matchup Wednesday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Drake Allen is averaging 6.4 points, 5.1 assists and 1.9 steals for the Aggies. Collins is averaging 18.1 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 48.4% over the last 10 games.

Leland Walker is averaging 15.1 points and 3.7 assists for the Cowboys. Meyer is averaging 1.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Aggies: 8-2, averaging 82.9 points, 31.2 rebounds, 16.9 assists, 8.2 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 51.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.0 points per game.

Cowboys: 4-6, averaging 71.2 points, 32.1 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 5.5 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 43.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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