Elk fire in Bighorn Mountains: No end in sight

BIG HORN MOUNTAINS, Wyo — In one way, it is hard to keep up with the Elk fire, currently ravaging the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming, just across the border from Northern Cheyenne. It is currently the largest forest fire in the western United States, nearing the 100,000 acre mark. Daily incident reports are provided by the United States Forest Service (USFS); however, it is necessary to know their “jargon’” to figure out what is really going on. How many planes? How much retardant? How many firefighters? Is the strategy working?

Apparently not, as now even the USFS is praying for snow, saying that at least a foot will be necessary to extinguish the monster.

The fire, which first started on September 27, was a bit of small acreage from a lightning strike, is growing at an average of 2,500 acres per day. The forest is now closed at least until December 31, this year. The fire is now threatening communities such as Sheridan, Big Goose, Dayton, Story and other areas where people live, several evacuations already held. Residents of Sheridan hold their breath, wondering when and if the fire will require the same in that community. 

There are another reason people are holding their breath – the air quality has been severely compromised, reaching levels of up to 300, a dangerous situation for people with respiratory and breathing problems. In combination with other western fires and depending on “how the wind blows” via the jet stream, air quality has been affected as far away as South Dakota and Nebraska.

Historically, the Big Horn Mountains were heavily used by the Northern Cheyenne, Sioux, Arapaho and Crow Tribes for hunting, fishing, berry gathering, harvest of lodge pole pine for tipis and ceremonial activities. The whole area is dotted with sacred sites, including, for example the famous Medicine Wheel.

The Big Horn Mountains are well known for an excellent elk and deer populations and recently the moose population had made a very nice recovery. Hunters from around the globe utilize this resource, including Native Americans.

Recently, for example Face book featured a video of an elk herd (approximately 600) fleeing the fire. They were headed to the Sarpy Mountains on the Crow Reservation and some even made it to Northern Cheyenne, providing a very good year for the tribal meat hunters. 

But what about the smaller creatures? Fish are literally being parboiled in the lakes and streams; squirrels, rabbits, insects and so forth cannot outrun a fire.

When the Elk fire first started, the USFS decided to “let it burn” as wildfires are supposed to be good for the grass and other living organisms in the forest. In addition, it started in a very remote location of the Forest, making it difficult to transport fire suppression teams and equipment.

According to a USFA spokesperson, while the Elk Fire is the largest active in the state, it might not be for long if the nearby Pack Trail Fire continues the accelerated growth it’s reported the past few days.

As of Tuesday, it had swelled to an estimated 86,555 acres, and together the two fires have burned nearly 180,000 acres in northern Wyoming during an unusual late-season surge.

The Elk Fire remains obstinate and frustrating challenge for the 939 team members working it, she said.

“It’s still behaving very much like a teenager,” she said, echoing the analogy coined by Field Operations Chief Adam Ziegler last week.

There was no strategic burning Monday, so the 2,590 acres of growth was all the fire itself, she said.

“It was mostly around the Rapid Creek drainage,” Mann-Kluger said about where the Elk Fire has been most active. “We did have a hotshot crew hot an anchor line in there and make sure the fire wasn’t challenging our fire line at all.”

Even as weather watchers point to expected rain and snow by the end of the week, both fires are raging out of control with little end in sight. As for the shift in weather anticipated for the end of the week, bringing much-needed rain and snow to much of northern Wyoming, it’s nice to anticipate, but firefighters can’t count on it until it happens, she said. Even when the snow does fly, the storm won’t be a fire-killer,” she said.

“It’s definitely not a season-ending event. There’s just too much heat, too much fuel and it’s too dry,” she said. “It’s going to take a little bit more than that.”

In the meantime, the plan is to continue to bolster, fortify and prepare Red Grade Road, a generally east-west road south of the fire’s path.

With 62% confinement, the California Incident Management Team 10 in charge of the fire has completed the work necessary to keep the fire within a set area for that much of the fire. That’s opposed to containment, which is stopping the fire’s spread.

On Monday, a new evacuation order was issued for the nearby Darwin Ranch area well outside the Bighorn boundaries, with authorities telling residents there to be “set” to leave if or when ordered.

“Visibility in the area will be reduced and roads/evacuation routes can become blocked,” Teton County Emergency Management reports. “If you do not leave, you could be trapped, injured or killed.”

Already ordered to go are people in the Upper Gros Venter area about Goosewing Road Junction, Lava Mountain subdivisions, the Triangle C Ranch, and the old KOA campground/old Wind River Ranch.

To help contain the fire along 540 Road from further threatening the Triangle C Ranch, the incident team burned about 40 acres on the eastern side of the fire.

The heavy smoke also has prompted a warning for people driving in the area, especially on Highway 26, to use their headlights and to pull over if visibility becomes too dangerous to drive.

Wyoming folks are of a decidedly conservation bent and there is growing discussion in the community about the need to review and revise current USFA forestry management practices, especially those related to fire.

The Big Horn Mountains are a national treasure, which has a considerable economic impact to Wyoming and surrounding areas.  That includes: tourism, camping, recreation, hunting, grazing permits for local ranchers and other qualities of life which is difficult to quantify. Many people are questioning if it was right to just “let that burn.”

(Contact Clara Caufield at acheyennevoic2@gmail.com)

 

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