DAYTON, WYOMING — The 51,115-acre Elk Fire west of Sheridan, Wyoming, continues to burn with 0% containment. The fire is located about six miles north of Dayton, Wyoming, which is about 15 miles west of Sheridan. Officials were concerned it could grow significantly overnight Friday night with the passage of a cold front and winds forecast to gust to more than 50 miles per hour.
More than 500 firefighters are working the lightning-caused blaze — which was first reported on Friday, September 27. They took advantage Thursday’s calmer weather to conduct burn-out operations and create more of a fire break.
Kristie Thompson is the Elk Fire information officer for the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team. She says there is no timeline for containment or control. “There are patches of unburned timber well within the fire area,” she said. “We will continue to see smoke from this fire until we have snow.”
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She also urged people stay safe. “If you’ve been evacuated, please do leave. And if a road is closed, please steer clear. We have fire traffic that needs to be in that area.”
Lisa Eichhorn is a spokesperson for Sheridan County. She said it’s disconcerting for area residents to see smoke and ash in the air. But, she says, “Don’t get overly, concerned because you see ash in the air. Ash is ash, not necessarily embers. And when or if it’s going to affect you directly, we will let you know as soon as we can.”
“There’s a lot of information out there, but it’s only a few of us that are putting out the official information,” says Eichhorn. And we try very hard to get that out as quickly as we have information, but obviously this is a fire, and it changes. So our Facebook site — Sheridan County Facebook site. Our Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office has a great active account, as well as the U.S. Forestry Service Bighorn.”
On behalf of the Incident Management Team, Thompson thanked the local community for it’s support. “[They] have been amazingly gracious with everything they’re going through. They have shown us support and kindness from the very start, and we can’t thank them enough.”
And she praised the local firefighters for their work. “The local volunteer fire department, they’ve been here from Day One,” says Thompson. Dayton, Ranchester, Sheridan — they’ve been the ones that have been fighting this fire. And we’re very thankful for all the work that they have done.”
A trucker is dead after rolling his rig in the Bighorn Mountains, the Wyoming Highway Patrol says.
The crash happened around 8:49 a.m. on Thursday, April 10, at milepost 47 on U.S. 16, about 20 miles east of Ten Sleep.
According to a fatality crash summary, 58-year-old Texas resident Michael Simmons was behind the wheel of a westbound tractor-trailer combination when he failed to negotiate a left-hand curve.
“The vehicle lost traction and began a passenger-side leading slide, and the vehicle overturned onto the roof and slid out of the lane of travel onto the westbound shoulder,” the summary reads.
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Simmons was wearing his seat belt but died from his injuries.
Speed Possibly to Blame
The summary lists speed as a possible contributing factor.
Simmons is the 23rd reported person to die on Wyoming’s highways this year.
Road Fatalities: Most Dangerous Time, Day, and Month by State
Knowing what dangers are ahead is part of being a good driver. Georgia-based attorneys at Bader Scott gathered information from the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHTSA) to determine the most fatal time, day, and month to be on the road in each of the 50 states.
CASPER, Wyo. — State drug enforcement agents say a Casper couple was arrested on their way back from Colorado on April 2 with almost 200 suspected fentanyl pills.
Ryelan Sjostrom, 36, and Kelly Jo Allen, 37, were charged with possession of fentanyl in a felony weight and possession with intent to deliver. Bonds were set at $25,000 cash or surety last week in circuit court. They are presumed innocent unless proven or pleading guilty.
In March, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents were told by some confidential sources that they had purchased fentanyl from Allen, according to the agent’s affidavit of probable cause filed in circuit court. One source’s phone revealed messages with Allen consistent with drug deals and Colorado travel, as well as Cash App transactions with Sjostrom.
One source said they bought about 50 pills a week from Allen, and that the couple went to Colorado to resupply a couple times a week
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Agents checked license plate tolls from Sjostrom’s red Subaru Forrester and confirmed trips to Colorado in February and March. Agents got a warrant to track the vehicle and observed three trips in mid- to late March. They also observed Allen’s travels and interactions around the city of Casper during that time.
Agents got a search warrant for the couple, their vehicle and their residence on April 1. That evening, at around 9:35 p.m., the tracker showed the Forrester headed back to Colorado. It then headed back to Natrona County with an estimated arrival time around 7:25 a.m., the affidavit said.
Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers were waiting to do a traffic stop and execute the warrant on Interstate 25 just east of Casper.
A trooper pulled Sjostrom out of the vehicle and asked him if there was anything illegal on him, to which Sjostrom reportedly motioned to his pocket and said “bad things,” according to the affidavit.
Agents found 18.6 grams of presumptive-positive fentanyl on Sjostrom, or roughly 186 pills, the affidavit said. About 1.5 grams of presumptive-positive fentanyl was found in Allen’s backpack.
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The charge of possession of a controlled substance in a felony weight carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison. The charge of possession with intent to deliver carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
