Natrona County Fire District Responds to Three Blazes on Sunday

Natrona County Fire District crews responded to three fires on Sunday afternoon, with two of them ending with destroyed vehicles, according to a news release.

At 5:24 p.m., crews from multiple agencies responded  to the area of Interstate 25 mile marker 177 -- about five miles east of the Hat Six Road exit in east Casper -- after a report of a wildland fire that was quickly spreading moving north.

Another report said a vehicle was on fire at mile marker 178, and the fire was moving into the grass.

Brush trucks began suppression efforts on the wildland aspects of the incidences, and structure engines worked to extinguish the vehicle fire.

Law enforcement assisted with traffic control.

The fire at mile marker 177 was contained to 31 acres. The fire at mile post 178 was contained to nine acres.

Both fires had the potential to become much larger.

No reports of injuries to firefighters were reported.

Sheriff's deputies alerted residents to the possibility of evacuations in the the Cow Hollow subdivision on the Old Glenrock Highway -- U.S. Highway 20-26-87 -- north of I-25. Evacuation plans were lifted after crews contained the fires.

Crews determined the vehicle fire at mile marker 178 started the fire at mile marker 177. The driver said he was having mechanical issues with the engine caught fire. He was able to get the vehicle off the highway at mile marker 178 when it erupted in flames and began the second fire wildland fire. The vehicle was destroyed, but the driver was not injured.

At 7:25 p.m., while crews were mopping up the I-25 fires, a report of another vehicle fire was reported west of Casper in the area of Coal Creek Road and Opal Street.

Crews from the I-25 fires and other units responded.

The first arriving units reported the vehicle was fully involved in fire and it was spreading to nearby grasses. Firefighters knocked down the wildland fire and then began extinguishing the vehicle fire.

That vehicle fire started due to mechanical issues. The driver said the vehicle was not operating correctly and smoke began coming from under the hood. The vehicle was destroyed, but the driver was uninjured.

Besides the Fire District, responding agencies included the Public Safety Communications of Casper, Evansville Fire-EMS, Bar Nunn Fire Department, Casper Mountain Fire District, the local office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Casper Fire-EMS, the Natrona County Sheriff's Office, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, the Wyoming Department of Transportation and Rocky Mountain Power.

The Natrona County Fire District reminds people to watch for emergency vehicles responding to incidents and operating on the sides of the road. It also asks people to slow and move out of the way as best as possible when they see lights and sirens.