JACKSON, Wyo. — As the Fish Creek Fire continues to expand, firefighters are working to control it at its perimeter, and more resources have been called in to help combat the blaze.
The fire, burning seven miles southwest of Togwotee Pass in the Fish Creek drainage area of Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF), had reached 11,278 acres by Sunday Aug. 16. The 331 personnel currently combatting the fire are focused on reducing fuels around its boundaries to prevent further spread.
“This incident is being managed under a confine/point protection strategy,” BTNF said in a press release Monday, Aug. 26. “Confine is a wildfire response strategy of restricting a wildfire to a defined area, primarily using natural barriers that are expected to restrict the spread of the wildfire under the prevailing and forecasted weather conditions.”
Crews are taking advantage of the cooler, wetter weather currently in the area to do this perimeter work in the hopes of heading off further fire growth before warmer, drier weather rolls in later this week.
Much of the work firefighters are doing is concentrated on areas northwest of the fire, including north of Togwotee Pass’s US 26 to protect buildings in the area. On Monday, personnel are expected to be working off of Flagstaff Road in the Holmes Cave Trail and Spread Creek areas.
Resources on scene include five helicopters and 13 fire engines, along with a masticator and a feller buncher, which cuts down trees and groups them together. More crews and equipment have been called in to help firefighting efforts.
Residences in Brooks Lake, Pinnacle Drive and Breccia Drive in Fremont County remain under a pre-evacuation order, meaning people should be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
BTNF and the Shoshone National Forest have issued a joint Closure Order for the area around the fire. The area is outlined in the map below, and details of the order can be found here.
Smoke from the fire along with a spot fire within 1.5 miles of US 26 led to a closure of Togwotee Pass the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 22. The pass was reopened Saturday but authorities warn that drivers should check the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s website before traveling in the area and that the pass could again be shut down if conditions worsen.
