Wyoming
Wyoming family recovers wildfire losses thanks to community help
GILLETTE, Wyo. — Although the Short Draw fire has mostly been contained, the damage has been done.
Thousands of acres of land have been burned and livestock has been lost, but few have lost as much as Jesse Raymond.
The Short Draw fire destroyed his home on the Wyoming side of the border. Now, he just has his family and the clothes on his back.
Luckily, his small community has come together to help him and his family through these trying times.
It’s been a tough and long week for Raymond, his significant other, Cheyenne, and their three children.
“(It’s been) difficult, really emotional, trying to figure everything out,” Raymond said.
The Short Draw fire broke out Sept. 11, about five miles outside his ranchette home in northern Campbell County, Wyoming, about 10 miles south of the Montana border.
He and his family were the among the first to evacuate.
Cheyenne was the first to witness the fire.
Jesse Raymond
“Cheyenne looked up, and she could see the flames,” he said.
Just a few devastating hours later, they lost everything from their possessions, photos, to a ramp they built for their child back in July.
“Nothing really came out of it… the kid’s baby pictures that we don’t have anymore, all the, anything you could think of, they got burned down to the blocks,” Raymond said.
One thing they do have is community support. His work family at Big D Oil helped Raymond’s family stay in a hotel and started collecting donations from the community. One of his colleagues who’s been super passionate about helping is his regional manager, Joanna Robertson.
Jesse Raymond
“He’s not family, but he’s family. We’ll do anything for him, whatever he needs to get him back on his feet,” she said.
Some of his co-workers even came together to start a GoFundMe.
“Oh, the whole community came together. It’s amazing. It’s amazing how much everybody has jumped in to help us,” Robertson said.
Raymond and his family appreciate all the support from the community. To him, it’s all about those little moments.
“One of my boys, Levi, he’s a little cowboy, and someone dropped off a bunch of cowboy shirts, and this morning he had the biggest smile on his face, tucking that cowboy shirt in,” Raymond told MTN.
Jesse Raymond
Even though Raymond and his family are going through a rough patch, his community has his back throughout the entire ride.
“You talk about (help), but when you actually see it, it’s like a a totally different wavelength. It brings everyone closer, and I’m glad that that’s happened in my life,” he said.
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.
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
Gallery Credit: Scott Clow
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
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.
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.
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