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Moderate rainfall slows fires in western Wyoming The Associated Press Monsoon rains are finally reaching into western and northwestern Wyoming where most wildfires are still burning.
Elsewhere, firefighters continued to battle active fires in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Fire spokesman Dave Stout said the three-tenths of an inch of rainfall that fell in parts of western Wyoming was welcome but more moisture is needed to subdue the fires. “Unfortunately (the rain) probably just made everybody wet,” he said. The fire north of Kemmerer was threatening two ranches and 150 to 200 summer homes. The 200 firefighters working the fire have been hampered by limited access steep terrain and high winds. However, the rain that fell Wednesday morning was enough to create muddy conditions in the fire’s base camp, according to Dave Schmidt, meteorologist assigned to the fire. In addition, the rain was not accompanied by lightning, which is the chief cause of most forest fires, Schmidt said. “It was a good old heavy rain shower,” he said. The fire was 33 percent contained Wednesday. Schmidt said the long-range outlook indicated that monsoon moisture from the south was expected to continue to stream into western and northwestern Wyoming, possibly through next Wednesday. Thursday’s forecast called for mostly cloudy weather with isolated sprinkling rain in the morning and scattered showers in the afternoon. “We’re finally tapping into the monsoonal moisture,” Schmidt said. “It will certainly help the fires.” Meantime, 374 firefighters were still battling several fires in the Grand Teton National Park area. The fires covered 15,506 acres. Another complex of fires southeast of Jackson was 55 percent contained Wednesday with 258 firefighters beginning to mop up some areas. Stout said firefighters believe some of those fires have grown but they do not have any detailed acreage yet. Most of the Teton Wilderness in the Bridger-Teton National Forest reopened Monday, allowing the public to access many backcountry trails. An extra 80 firefighters freed up by dying blazes elsewhere were expected to arrive Wednesday on the Enos Fire west and south of Enos Lake. The reopening of half a million acres of the Teton Wilderness arrived in time for opening season of some big game hunting areas Friday. Outfitters had feared they would be unable to take their clients into the backcountry because of the fire. Some areas where outfitters had intended to camp have burned. “The main concern right now is that hunting season is coming up and some of these areas will have hunters in them soon and its possible that there could be problems as a result of that, just accidental fires,” Stout said. “Anything that will cause a spark or heat could cause a problem, depending on where the (flammable) fuel is.” Curt Gowdy State Park has lifted its ban on open fires, including wood campfires and charcoal briquette cooking fires, according to Division of State Parks officials. Other fire bans remain in place at Boysen, Bear River, Glendo, Guernsey, Hawk Springs, Sinks Canyon, Keyhole and Edness K. Wilkins state parks. Briquette fires in grills and gas grills are permitted. A fire on the Wind River Indian Reservation near Fort Washakie was 90 percent contained. There was increased fire activity on Tuesday, but it stayed on the fire’s interior. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas said Monday he is pressing Congress for additional money for fighting wildfires in the west. In a letter to Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Thomas asked for additional money to be added to next year’s spending bill. He also wrote a letter to Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, chairman of the Forest and Public Land Management Committee, asking for congressional oversight hearings into the Clinton administration’s fire management techniques. “While no one could have anticipated the fury of this year’s fires, clearly, circumstances exist that suggest the forest has not been managed to limit the potential for widespread destruction,” he wrote to Craig. The issue of wildfires is expected to top the legislative calendar when Congress reconvenes on Sept. 5. Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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