Fire Watch Round-up Friday July 6th

Fire fighters say rain is helping control four major wildfires burning in Wyoming. State Forester Bill Crapser says damp conditions raise hopes that firefighters will  be able to move into mop up soon.

The largest of the fires is the roughly 150-square-mile Arapaho Fire burning northwest of Wheatland. Crasper said it received a good soaking from a rainstorm Thursday night.

Some roads on the east side the Fire have been reopened:

· Fish Creek and fletcher Park Roads are open.

· Cottonwood Park is open from Palmer Canyon Road to the intersection of Harris Park.

Other closures in the Arapaho Fire area remain in place.

Inspection teams are making progress with property assessments. Contact the assessors' office at 307-721-2511 for more information ***

Firefighters on the Oil Creek fire north of Newcastle report 50 percent containment in the last 24 hours. That fire is estimated to have burned over 61,000 acres.

According to Weston County Homeland Security Facebook page, most evacuations were lifted Thursday.

Fire officials report that Thursday's wetting rains helped with suppression efforts and while the storm's gusty winds tested the fire lines, they held.

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Crews are doing mop-up work and strengthening containment lines at the Highlands Fire between Newcastle, Wyo., and Custer, S.D. The blaze destroyed five structures, including two homes, as it scorched about 400 acres.

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Fire spokesman Brian Scott says controlling the White Draw Fire in Black Hills is "going really well."

Flags across South Dakota flew at half-staff Thursday to honor four North Carolina National Guard airmen who died in the crash of a C-130 air tanker helping battle the White Draw Fire last weekend. Two other airmen were injured in the crash.

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A rancher who had cattle grazing near the Squirrel Creek fire hasn't been able to check on his animals.

J.T. Nunn told the Laramie Boomerang that he is the only rancher who had livestock there this summer. He has no idea how the cattle are faring. It's been too hot and dangerous to check on them so he just opened the gates to the area and hopes they will be able to find their way out.

More rain is expected to help firefighters in that area southwest of Laramie, but winds from thunderstorms have spread the fire a bit.

That fire, about 30 miles southwest of Laramie, grew by about 650 acres before  rain began falling Thursday. The fire was 55 percent contained Friday.

Authorities say the fire was human-caused and remains under investigation.

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On the western side of the state the Bear Bub Fire at 6000 acres has  caused closure of forest service trails in the vicinity. The Fontenelle Fire the larger of the Bridger-Teton forest fires has burned over 57,000 and is still only 25 percent contained