Horse Creek Fire Now At 43 Acres, Type 3 Firefighter Team Called In

Forest officials continue to call in additional resources to battle a stubborn wildfire in a popular recreation area called Greys River, approximately 30 miles south of Jackson. 

The blaze has grown to 43 acres, and prevailing winds are pushing the blaze toward Bondurant, a community 20 miles to the northeast that had to evacuate during the devastating Roosevelt Fire in 2018.

The Horse Creek Fire was discovered July 1 about 2 miles northeast of the Blind Bull Warming Hut in the Big Piney Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Lightning is suspected as the cause. 

At the time of discovery only a few trees were smoldering, covering about 2.2 acres. A helitack team was dispatched to put the fire out but dry, windy conditions have fueled its growth. 

On July 12, a Wyoming Type 3 team, with more expertise and firefighters, took command of the incident, allowing for additional resources including one helicopter and 57 personnel.

A Type 3 Incident Management Team is brought in for fires that exceed the firefighting resources a forest may have available.

Trail and road closures remain in place. Officials say the firefighting strategy is to keep the fire from backing up to the southwest and to create a firebreak using natural barriers to the northeast to prevent growth.

Plan Of Attack

Fire crews have positioned hose along southern holding features of the North Horse Creek drainage area. Crews are also busy creating a fire break—an arduous process of cutting and clearing by hand a barren area—in the lower part of Pass Creek for suppression efforts. 

Incident commander Travis Pardue says the challenges are heavy downfall, snags and extremely steep terrain for firefighters. Fire behavior has been moderate over the few days. Dry thunderstorms have been problematic. Growth comes in creeping, smoldering and isolated single-tree torching, fire officials said.

A fire camp has been established at the Horse Creek Snow Park to support fire crews. The objective, officials say, is to contain the fire to the current footprint.

“Efforts continue to identify the highest probability of success in fire line placement. Because the fire is burning in a string of conifer trees on a steep slope, the plan is to confine and contain the fire and keep firefighters out of the snags while suppressing the fire,” said Bridger-Teton spokesperson Renae Pape. “With rain and lightning in the forecast, crews remain active but safety is the priority for firefighters.”

Similarities to a monster fire 6 years ago

The Horse Creek Fire would have to cover around 20 miles in any direction to threaten homes, ranches, businesses or towns. Bondurant and Hoback Ranches fell victim to a similar fire in 2018 which consumed over 61,500 acres and more than 57 homes.

Not impossible considering conditions and available fuels to the northwest of the conflagration.

“There’s always the chance of movement on any wildfire. But with the minimal growth over the past few days, we are encouraged about holding it. We are just focused on getting saw lines put down,” Pape said.

Wary of better protecting Bondurant from wildfire, a prescribed 3.500-acre spring burn is still mopping up just outside Bondurant at Monument Ridge. It is precisely the kind of land management RX the Forest Service is looking to perform in order to create defensible space just west of Bondurant. 

Trails Closures And Some Progress

Bridger-Teton National Forest has implemented road and trail closures in the vicinity for public safety and to allow firefighters and equipment to move throughout the area.

Pape added that fire growth was minimal overnight. Holding at 43 acres as of July 17, two hand crews are hard at work creating fire breaks. Suppression teams from Teton and Platte Wildfire are those on scene.

“Hand crews continue on saw line (fire break) to improve natural features where the fire can be hopefully contained. Hose line is also being placed drawing water from nearby natural springs,” Pape added.

The helicopter assigned to the fire has made no water bucket drops but, rather, has been used for shuttling gear and supplies into the remote area, Pape added.

Light rain moved through the fire recently. With every pop-up thunderstorm, though, comes the risk of wind and lightning.

“Wind and weather are different up here,” said Pape. “Terrain-driven, localized weather is hard to predict. We have a potential wind day today.”

Officials plan to get an aerial view of the fire on Thursday to get a better sense of growth and a more accurate acre count.

Where’s Smoke Coming From?

The fire danger rating for the Bridger-Teton National Forest was kicked up to ‘High’ on July 9. That means fires can start easily from most causes, and small fuels like grasses and pine needles will ignite readily.

There are no campfire bans or restrictions currently in place, but Forest officials say that day could be coming should fire danger increase further to ‘Very High.’

Smoky skies in Wyoming have sadly become the norm in the past decade during the second half of summer. By July, smoke from nearby fires in Idaho, Montana and even California creep its way across the Cowboy State depending on the prevailing jet stream. 

The bulk of the smoke being observed across western and central Wyoming this week is coming from wildfires burning in Oregon and Idaho. The Falls Fire in Oregon, for instance, has already consumed over 64,000 acres. According to NOAA, smoke from these western wildfires is circulating clockwise around high pressure sitting to the south of Wyoming, which provides an eastward trajectory for the smoke.

The Horse Creek Fire would have to cover around 20 miles in any direction to threaten homes, ranches, businesses or towns. Bondurant and Hoback Ranches fell victim to a similar fire in 2018 which consumed over 61,500 acres and more than 57 homes.

Not impossible considering conditions and available fuels to the northwest of the conflagration.

“There’s always the chance of movement on any wildfire. But with the minimal growth over the past few days, we are encouraged about holding it. We are just focused on getting saw lines put down,” Pape said.

Jake Nichols can be reached at jake@cowboystatedaily.com.