Western Wildfires – Latest Updates [VIDEOS]
It is simply amazing to me the grand display that Mother Nature is putting on in our state of Wyoming, and our neighboring states too!It seems almost Biblical in nature...is Armageddon here? To put it simply...no! But it certainly is the perfect storm for wildfires! Let's see, what would we need for this level of wildfire activity to occur?
A very warm winter with much less snow than normal... check!
Massively large areas of beetle kill in our forests... check!
Little or no rainfall to speak of all through the spring into summer... check!
Very hot and dry conditions backed up with gusty strong winds everyday... check!
All those factors combined with lightning from storms that come through but don't give us but just a drop or two of rain, some careless people with fireworks or campfires not handled properly...even a random cigarette butt can start a fire almost instantly in these conditions! Please be extra careful when handling anything that is flammable or could start a fire! As Smokey the Bear says, "Only you can prevent forest fires".
I have compiled the latest list for our general area and put it here, any of these fires can be instantly referenced and updated at www.inciweb.org as well. These were the statistics as of the time of posting, please keep in mind that there are wildfires currently in almost every state in the country!
Wyoming Wildfires
Fontenelle Fire - Bridger - Teton National Forest Active 12,000
Russells Camp Fire - Medicine Bow National Forest & Thunder Basin Grassland Active 5,465
Colorado Wildfires
Hewlett Fire - Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests / Pawnee National Grassland Active 7,685
Sunrise Mine - Uncompahgre Field Office Active 5,742
Springer - Pike and San Isabel National Forests Active 1,145
Treasure - Pike and San Isabel National Forests Active 320
Little Sand - San Juan National Forest Active 22,440
Weber - San Juan National Forest Active 9,155
Waldo Canyon Fire – Pike and San Isabel National Forests Active 15,517
High Park Fire - Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests / Pawnee Grassland Active 87,284
Montana Wildfires
Antelope Lane - Beaverhead - Deerlodge National Forest Active 686
Bear Trap 2 - Beaverhead - Deerlodge National Forest Active 3,000
Corral Fire - Montana DNRC Active 1,200