Wyoming

Dayton residents prepare for evacuation as Elk fire grows

Published

1 month ago

October 6, 2024

Dayton residents prepare for evacuation as Elk fire grows

DAYTON, Wyo. — The Elk fire in northern Wyoming continues to burn across the Bighorn mountains. Early Saturday morning, residents in Dayton were asked to be ready to evacuate at any moment, as the winds are pushing the fire southwest.

With winds over 60 mph, at about 1 am Saturday morning, the Elk fire reached over 62,00 acres. Residents in Dayton have moved from a “Ready” evacuation status, to a “Set” evacuation status, meaning they need to be ready to evacuate.

Mack Carmack, MTN News

Elk Fire, Dayton Wyo., 100524

“This one… It just got big so quick… and the winds are not in our favor, by any means,” says Rhianna Miller, a mother and Dayton resident.

Miller says she used to live in Florida, and would often experience hurricanes, but says this wildfire takes the cake for natural disasters she’s experienced.

“It’s one thing to prepare for a hurricane, ‘cuz you know it’s coming. But, this hands down has to be the most terrifying,” Miller said.

The reason the Elk fire has been so destructive, according to Sheridan County officials, is because of the high winds and timber in the Bighorn mountains. Where most wildfires burn grass, the Elk fire is burning trees.

“So (grass fires) can be very fast moving, but if… the wind slows down, they’ll slow down, and we can get ahead and really cut that off. Well, when it’s in a different sort of fuel type, like very heavy timber, it’s going to take a lot longer for that fuel type to be consumed,” said Kristie Thompson, the Public Information Officer for the Elk fire.

What may be most unfortunate for residents is the fact that, because of these high winds and timber, Elk could burn for weeks.

“So, as long as it’s held at bay, and doesn’t come closer to town, I would like to go home,” said Miller.

Many Wyoming residents are hoping to go home, as many areas have already evacuated, including: South Highway 14, west of Beckon Road, and Eaton Ranch Road. In Montana, some Bighorn County residents are preparing for evacuation, as well.

“(These fires) are very dynamic, very fluid. We’re constantly looking at that with the Incident Management Team, the operations, and coming up with a plan. That’s our primary goal, to make sure that the public is safe, the firefighters are safe. So when we’re seeing the fire move, and the activity change, we are constantly looking at that, and determining where we need to set evacuation notices,” said Levi Dominguez, the Sheridan County Sheriff.

As of Saturday afternoon, the fire is zero percent contained, many evacuations are in order, and heavy winds continue to spread across the region. Because of that, there is no way of knowing when Elk fire is to end.

“Until the snow comes, we will likely be seeing smoke,” says Thompson.

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Related Topics:Dayton evacuation Featured fire Montana Natural disaster news severe weather wildfire wyoming

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Wyoming

Wyoming East volleyball heads to the state tourney for the first time ever

Published

5 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Press Room

Wyoming East volleyball heads to the state tourney for the first time ever

NEW RICHMOND, W.Va. (WVVA) – The Wyoming East Lady Warriors and Liberty Lady Raiders clashed in the Class AA R3 co-championship Wednesday night.

The Lady Raiders would be the ones to pounce early in both the first and second sets, but the Lady Warriors would rally in both of them to come back and take a 2-0 lead.

In the third, it was all smoothing sailing for Wyoming East winning 25-12, winning the regional and heading to the state tournament for the first time in program history.

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Wyoming

Wyoming PD: Vehicle stolen with child inside

Published

14 hours ago

November 6, 2024

Press Room

Wyoming PD: Vehicle stolen with child inside

WYOMING, Mich. — A child is safe after Wyoming police say they were inside a vehicle that had been stolen Tuesday night.

Officers responded to the incident at around 8 p.m. in the 3300 block of South Division Avenue, according to the Wyoming Police Department (WPD).

We’re told a suspect made off in a stolen vehicle while a child was still inside. At one point, the suspect took the child out of the car and dropped them off.

WPD says the child was found by a parent. They were unhurt during the incident.

The carjacking remains under investigation.

Those with knowledge related to the incident are encouraged to connect with investigators at 616-530-7300 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.

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Wyoming

Barrasso leads GOP in voter support as multiple Wyoming counties report 100%-plus turnout

Published

21 hours ago

November 6, 2024

Press Room

Barrasso leads GOP in voter support as multiple Wyoming counties report 100%-plus turnout

CASPER, Wyo. — In an election where Wyoming counties saw more than 100% voter turnout, Republican Sen. John Barrasso was lent greater support than the man who endorsed his reelection, former President Donald Trump.

That’s according to the unofficial election results available from the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday. Results will remain unofficial until certified by local and state canvassing boards.

Barrasso earned 198,366 votes statewide, dominating his Democratic challenger, Scott D. Morrow, who earned 63,706 votes. Support for Barrasso grew leaps and bounds over his election in 2018, when he received 136,210 votes, per the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office records.

This year, Barrasso earned more Republican votes than any other candidate in the state, including Trump, who, with his vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance, earned 192,576 votes. That by far dwarfed the number of votes for their Democratic challengers, Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, who received 69,508 votes in Wyoming.

Trump’s support among Wyomingnites this year waned slightly from the 2020 election, when he received 193,559 votes with then-Vice President Mike Pence. Both the 2020 and 2024 elections were up substantially from the 2016 election. That year, Trump and Pence picked up 174,419 votes in Wyoming.

Rep. Harriet Hageman, another Trump-supported Republican, earned 184,626 votes to retain her seat, a commanding lead over her challengers: Democrat Kyle G. Cameron with 60,763 votes, Libertarian Richard Brubaker with 9,219 votes and Constitutionalist Jeffrey Haggit with 5,360 votes.

Support for Hageman, who unseated incumbent Rep. Liz Cheney in 2022, was considerably higher this year than her initial election in November 2022. That year, she picked up 132,206 votes.

Ballots Cast

Total ballots cast in Wyoming broken down by county via the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office. (Wyoming Secretary of State)

In all this year, there were 271,043 ballots cast in the general election, according to the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office. That number may increase slightly as some provisional ballots were still being counted Wednesday.

Those counts were happening in Laramie County on Wednesday morning. County Clerk Debra Lee said there weren’t enough remaining ballots to sway any outcome. She added there don’t appear to be any recounts either.

Laramie County was among those that saw greater than 100% voter turnout. The county reported 40,452 registered voters Nov. 5, but had 43,583 ballots cast as of a 11:53 p.m. report. That’s a 107.74% turnout.

“Wyoming has same-day registration, so that’s why the math looks that way,” Lee said.

Laramie County vote totals as of 11:53 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Laramie County Clerk’s Office)

Some voters reported that they were no longer registered and the county had no voting history for them despite having participated in past elections. In April, Cap City News reported that over 15,000 Laramie County residents were removed from the voter registry in February, following an annual purge mandated by state law. To be eligible for this year’s elections, affected residents would have to re-register. Lee referenced that purge when asked about the complaint.

Natrona County saw a massive addition of voters as well, with County Clerk Tracy Good reporting a 113.26% turnout. The county had 30,197 registered voters with 34,202 ballots cast, according to an election report printed at 10:57 p.m. Tuesday.

Similarly to Laramie County, Campbell County reported a 107.7% voter turnout. There, registered voters totaled 17,109. A report printed at 12:24 a.m. Wednesday shows 18,443 ballots cast.

On Monday, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray reported that Wyoming was seeing an increase in turnout across the state compared with turnout numbers from previous election cycles. As of 3:20 p.m. Monday, absentee turnout by mail and in person was 112,824, about 44% the number of registered voters in Wyoming.

Despite the overwhelming turnout in some counties, the state did not trump the 2020 election turnout. The 2020 election saw 278,503 ballots cast statewide, up considerably from the 2016 general election’s 258,788, per Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office records.

Stew Dyer at Cap City News contributed to this report.

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