CASPER, Wyo. — An open house for the Casper Wyoming Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will begin this week.

After invited guests tour the temple on Tuesday and Wednesday, a public open house will begin Thursday and will run through Saturday, Sept. 14, with the exception of Sundays. No tickets are required to attend the open house.

The temple will be dedicated by Elder Quentin L. Cook, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 10 a.m.

The temple was first announced by President Russell M. Nelson in April 2021.

“Keep your temple covenants and blessings foremost in your minds and hearts,” President Nelson said as he announced the Casper Wyoming Temple and 19 others.

According to a Church news release, the temple is 9,950 square feet and was built on 9.52 acres of land. It is located at 3011 Independence Court in Casper.

The temple will be the second operating temple in Wyoming. The Star Valley Temple was dedicated in October 2016. President Nelson also announced a temple for Cody, Wyoming in October 2021.

Currently, there are 350 temples that are in operation, under construction or announced around the world.

The temple will serve 15,000 church members in 50 congregations.

Four wildfires burning in southeast Montana and northern Wyoming have burned a total of 918,282 acres, but firefighters say they are gaining as weather cools.

A community meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28 at the Birney Post Office at 302 Commercial St. to discuss firefighter efforts for the Flat Rock, Remington, Constitution and House Draw fires, according to a Monday release from the Southwest Area Incident Management Team.

Birney was one of the most threatened populated areas of the fires, and ranchers in the area have lost livestock, fencing and grazing land.

Combined, 840 firefighters are fighting the fires, including 24 crews, three helicopters, 78 engines, nine bulldozers and seven water tenders.

Destructive wildfire in southeastern Montana forces evacuations and claims land

Here are some highlights of each fire, according to the incident management team:

Remington (196,387 acres, 0 percent containment) Fire behavior was significantly reduced Sunday, and firefighters will monitor activity on the north end Monday, conduct mopup in the northeast and secure lines in the southwest. The fire is about 20 miles northeast of Leiter, Wyo., but is also burning in several southeast Montana counties.

House Draw (174,702 acres, 88 percent containment) Firefighters extinguished a burning power line outside the perimeter of the fire Sunday. On Monday, they are patrolling and mopping up heat sources securing lines where needed. The fire is about 40 miles southeast of Buffalo, Wyo.

Flat Rock (52,599 acres, 35 percent containment) The Flat Rock fire is 11 miles northwest of Gillette, and firefighters are monitoring the north end Monday, using direct attacks and helicopters.

Constitution (24,594 acres, 28 percent containment) Heavy equipment crews are using bulldozers to keep building containment lines. Fire activity on the northern end continues to produce smoke.