Elk, Pack Trail Fires Each Close In On 100,000 Acres, Snow Can’t Come Soon Enough

As people across Wyoming and the nation have their focus on the Elk Fire burning in western Sheridan County, the state’s largest active wildfire continues to grow.

It passed the 90,000-acre mark overnight Monday and by Tuesday was an estimated 91,905 acres, growth of nearly 2,600 acres in a day.

While the Elk Fire is the largest active in the state, it might not be for long if the Pack Trail Fire continues the accelerated growth it’s reported the past few days.

As of Tuesday, it had swelled to an estimated 86,555 acres, and together the two fires have burned nearly 180,000 acres in northern Wyoming during an unusual late-season surge.

After awhile, watching the numbers creep up almost becomes like watching a game show, said Diane Mann-Klager, spokesperson for the Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team in charge of fighting the Elk Fire.

In a way, people may be watching in anticipation of the fire hitting 100,000 acres, she said.

“But in this case, it’s not a prize to hit 100,000,” Mann-Klager added.

More Elk Fire

The Elk Fire remains obstinate and frustrating challenge for the 939 team members working it, she said.

“It’s still behaving very much like a teenager,” she said, echoing the analogy coined by Field Operations Chief Adam Ziegler last week.

There was no strategic burning Monday, so the 2,590 acres of growth was all the fire itself, she said.

“It was mostly around the Rapid Creek drainage,” Mann-Klager said about where the Elk Fire has been most active. “It decided to more a little bit in that area.

“We did have a hotshot crew hot an anchor line in there and make sure the fire wasn’t challenging our fire line at all.”

Storm Won’t Be A Fire-Killer

Even as weather watchers point to expected rain and snow by the end of the week, both fires are raging out of control with little end in sight.

As has been the case since the Elk Fire was started by lightning Sept. 27, the blaze has been more nocturnal.

“It likes to work at night. It doesn’t like to work during the day,” Mann-Klager said, adding that crews are bracing for a potentially bad fire night Tuesday.

“Tonight is probably going to be the warmest and driest we’ve seen, so that’s a sign it’s likely going to be more active,” she said.

As for the shift in weather anticipated for the end of the week, bringing much-needed rain and snow to much of northern Wyoming, it’s nice to anticipate, but firefighters can’t count on it until it happens, she said.

“They keep asking (the meteorologists) how positive are you that it’s coming,” Mann-Klager said. “It’s looked out, but not expected.”

Even when the snow does fly, the storm won’t be a fire-killer, she said.

“It’s definitely not a season-ending event. There’s just too much heat, too much fuel and it’s too dry,” she said. “It’s going to take a little bit more than that.”

In the mean time, the plan is to continue to bolster, fortify and prepare Red Grade Road, a generally east-west road south of the fire’s path.

The Elk Fire incident team also has quite a bit of resources, including 13 aircraft, 19 crews, 67 engines, eight dozers and 19 water tenders.

More Pack Trail Fire

West of the folks fighting the Elk Fire is another massive effort battling the Pack Trail Fire, which has merged with the nearby Fish Creek Fire and has grown significantly to 86,555 acres.

With 62% confinement, the California Incident Management Team 10 in charge of the fire has completed the work necessary to keep the fire within a set area for that much of the fire. That’s opposed to containment, which is stopping the fire’s spread.

The Pack Trail Fire continues to threaten subdivisions and lodges along Highway 26 and throw up huge plumes of smoke, the incident team reports.

On Monday, a new evacuation order was issued for the Darwin Ranch area, with authorities telling residents there to be “set” to leave if or when ordered.

“Visibility in the area will be reduced and roads/evacuation routes can become blocked,” Teton County Emergency Management reports. “If you do not leave, you could be trapped, injured or killed.”

Already ordered to go are people in the Upper Gros Ventre area about Goosewing Road Junction, Lava Mountain subdivisions, the Triangle C Ranch, and the old KOA campground/old Wind River Ranch.

To help contain the fire along 540 Road from further threatening the Triangle C Ranch, the incident team burned about 40 acres on the eastern side of the fire.

The heavy smoke also has prompted a warning for people driving in the area, especially on Highway 26, to use their headlights and to pull over if visibility becomes too dangerous to drive.

Whose Drone Was That?

Another dangerous situation manifested Monday when the aerial attack of the fire was impacted by someone illegally flying a drone over the fire area, the incident team reports.

“Someone illegally flew a drone over the fire area, impacting the aerial attack on the fire,” the report says. “Remember that flying a personal drone over a fire area during a temporary flight restriction is illegal and can be an extremely dangerous threat to both our aviators and firefighters on the ground.”

More of the same is expected Tuesday with shifting winds in the afternoon likely leading “to increased fire activity,” the report says.

Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.