Wyoming Wildfires Burn Homes, Force Evacuations Around The State

The calendar turns to August soon, a time when weather forecasts start using the words “haze” and “smoke” alongside meteorological terms like partly cloudy.

It’s wildfire season in the West, and Wyoming tends to live in the ash of its Western neighbors until the Equality State itself is battling its own wildfires.

Hundreds of residents in tiny Upton, Wyoming, on the border of Crook and Weston counties, were chased from their homes Monday as a fast-moving grassfire threatened subdivisions along Barton Road.

Just west of Gillette, the Campbell County Fire Department battled 50 mph winds whipping a grassfire into a frenzy that consumed mobile homes, campers and several pets over the weekend.

Meanwhile, an innocent lightning strike in the heart of the Shoshone National Forest 11 days ago has ballooned into a 1,000-acre wildfire that briefly closed the east entrance to Yellowstone over the weekend.

The Clearwater Fire is shaping up to be a problem.

Burning in remote and rugged terrain, more than 100 firefighters are trying to keep it away from two popular campgrounds along Highway 14/16/20 between Cody and Yellowstone National Park.

Both have already been evacuated.

Clearwater Fire Threatens East Entrance

The Clearwater Fire is the state’s top priority at the moment. Hampering suppression efforts is the extreme difficulty in reaching the fire with equipment or personnel.

The blaze is located on a ridgeline between Elk Fork and June Creek drainages about a mile south of Clearwater Campground and 11 miles west of Wapiti, Wyoming. Increased activity this week from high winds associated with approaching weather fronts is anticipated.

Monday, the fire made a significant run north up Elk Fork canyon and is being funneled straight toward the Highway 14/16/20 corridor. That prompted evacuations of Elk Fork campground, Wapiti campground, the Wapiti Ranger Station and area summer homes.

“The fire activity we saw [Monday] was prompted by winds up the canyon taking the fire toward the highway. Some of those gusts were around 45 mph,” said Kim Hemenway, spokesperson for a Wyoming Type III incident response team.

With firefighting operations and heavy smoke in the area, Wyoming Highway Patrol temporarily closed the highway from the East Entrance to Wapiti. That closure has been lifted and the highway is open. Motorists can expect to encounter numerous WYDOT electronic signs addressing smoke in the area and reduced visibility.

No structures have been lost. Firefighters were able to protect vehicles left at various corrals in Elk Fork. The fire also hasn’t crossed the highway to the north, and spread down the canyon to the south has been minimal.

Aerial reconnaissance was flown Monday night. Preliminary results suggest the fire is at 1,047 acres. A Type 3 Wyoming team led by Jon Warder is in command of the incident with 101 assigned to the fire. A Type 1 helicopter is also being used to make water drops.

A change in weather systems is expected Thursday that could bring gusty and erratic winds with an increase in isolated thunderstorms.

Fire danger was upgraded to “Very High” in Yellowstone over the weekend prohibiting all campfires in the backcountry, including those in established fire rings.

Upton Residents Evacuated

Another red flag warning day in Weston County caused a scare Monday.

Extreme winds pushed a grassfire out of Crook County straight toward Upton to the southeast. Crook County Emergency Management warned its Weston County counterparts to evacuate residents in subdivisions along Barton Road.

Announcements were made on social media, radio and on alert broadcasting networks. Wyoming Highway Patrol, Weston County Sheriff’s Office and members of the Upton Fire Department went door to door to assist people leaving their homes.

The Wyoming Office of Homeland Security was notified and shelters were opened at the Upton Community Center and Upton High School. American Red Cross of Wyoming was put on standby notice.

Weston County came together. Offers of assistance, resources and places to put horses were shared throughout the community from as far away as Newcastle.

Local firefighters were able to coax the Dogman Fire into an area that was blade-lined (cleared), where it ran out of fuel. Affected residents were cleared to return to their homes by 10 p.m.

Several Structures Lost Near Gillette

In Campbell County, a handful of people were left without homes to return to after erratic winds shifted direction Saturday and thrust a grassfire onto Peaceful Valley Drive just west of Gillette.

Several structures, including two homes, and vehicles were completely consumed in the blaze believed to have been started by a downed powerline. Area residents joined Campbell County firefighters in trying to contain the wildfire.

Dozens of pets, horses, goats, chickens and other animals were saved, but some dogs were reported killed.

County fire officials praised volunteers who came alongside their efforts with everything from heavy equipment to garden hoses.

Willie and Carol McPheeters were among those displaced by the fire. They helped their neighbors move cars, pets and belongings until they couldn’t. One final gust sent flames straight at their home. They barely made it away only to watch it go up in smoke.

“It left them with nothing but the clothes on their backs,” said close friend Dora Conzelman, who is organizing a financial recovery effort for the McPheeters on GoFundMe.

The following day, the Beaver Creek Fire off Napier Road southwest of Gillette was another grassfire that pushed its way across open farm and rangeland.

State Sen. Eric Barlow was seen lending a hand on the Beaver Creek incident, dousing hotspots with a water tank off the back of a rusty Chevy pickup. A video by Aaron Layman shows a slurry bomber laying down fire retardant as Barlow looked on in the foreground.

Campbell County Fire Marshal Stuart Burnham confirmed “some air support” in both the Peaceful Valley Road and Napier Road fires.

“We’ve had a really busy weekend and are now looking at another week of red flag warnings. We just hope for the best and for people to me smart,” Burnham said.

Jack Creek

The Medicine Bow National Forest is dealing with the Jack Creek Fire burning 20 acres about 20 miles southwest of Saratoga. The wildfire was first spotted Monday afternoon around 5:19 p.m. Its cause has not yet been determined.

Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken asked travel in the Joe’s Park and Jack Creek area, popular with campers and hikers, be avoided for the time being.

No structures have been lost or damaged. The incident is being handled by Carbon County firefighters with assistance from the BLM Rawlins Field Office and resources from the Medicine Bow National Forest.

Five potential fires in the area have been detected by NOAA radar. They could be spotting as a result of the Jack Creek Fire.

The Mowry Peak Fire burned in the same general north Sierra Madre area in 2020.

Contact Jake Nichols at jake@cowboystatedaily.com

Jake Nichols can be reached at jake@cowboystatedaily.com.