Wyoming Wildfire Burns Over 1,300 Acres; 20% Contained [VIDEO]
A day after a human-caused wildfire scorched over a thousand acres in Sublette County, fire crews continue to fight the flames in the face of warm, dry conditions ideal for fire growth.
Dubbed the Tannerite Fire, the blaze was estimated at 1,340 acres in size as of Sunday morning. While a number of homes and other structures are threatened, no primary residences have been burned.
The Sublette County Sheriff's Office said on its Facebook page Sunday that the Boulder Lake and Burnt Lake roads are closed. Evacuations remain in effect for the Boulder Lake Estates, Boulder Lake Campground, Burnt Lake, Meadow Lake and associated campgrounds, but no one required shelter Saturday night and no additional evacuations are anticipated.
"The primary objective for this incident is to ensure the safety of firefighters and the public," Sgt. Travis Bingham said. "Protection of structures and private property is also a key objective."
The Tannerite Fire began shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday and is burning in sage, grass and timber. Resources include seven engines, a water tender, four helicopters, a hand crew, eight smokejumpers, a five-person fire module, five helitack crewmembers as well as air attack and fixed-wing retardant tankers as needed.
A Type 3 Incident Management Team is shadowing current leadership and will assume command of the fire response by Monday morning. The fire has burned on multiple jurisdictions and the unified response is currently being led by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
An emergency operations center was established at the Sublette County Emergency Management Office.
"Crews will be facing red flag conditions again today through Monday evening," Bingham continued. "High temperatures, low humidity and strong winds will make control efforts challenging."
Most of Wyoming, including all of Sublette County, remained under a red flag warning Sunday afternoon. That means any type of outdoor burning or other activity which poses any fire risk is strongly discouraged.
Bingham said Saturday that the fire was caused by the use of exploding firearms targets, commonly known by the brand Tannerite. Officials have attributed at least one other wildfire to the use of such targets; the Sawmill Fire burned over 40,000 acres in Arizona last year after a Border Patrol agent used an exploding target during a gender-reveal party.