ROCK SPRINGS — Residents are being urged to be mindful of elevated fire conditions developing across Wyoming.
The Bureau of Land Management issued a statement Tuesday that despite cooler overnight temperatures, live fuel moisture is at seasonal lows and areas without snow cover are susceptible to ignition and rapid fire spread. The BLM says weather forecasts suggest a combination of strong wind, higher than average temperatures and low relative humidity – which can result in wildfires.
“Even though it may not feel like peak fire season yet, the current conditions create a real potential for wildfires to start and spread quickly,” Mark Randall, the fire management officer for the BLM’s High Desert District said. “A single spark in the wrong place can have significant impacts.”
A Red Flag Warning took effect Wednesday at noon and will expire at 9 p.m. Saturday and impacts Sweetwater, Uinta, Lincoln and Sublette Counties.
Similar conditions resulting in a massive fire burning in western Nebraska resulted in the Sublette County Unified Fire volunteer firefighters being dispatched across state lines. The group left to help battle the Morrill Fire March 14, a fire that has burned more than 700,000 acres and is the largest in state history. The service’s Battalion 1 joined other Wyoming fire crews from Campbell, Teton and Crook Counties in assisting Nebraska with the fire.
“We try to help our neighbors when they need it most,” Sublette County Unified Fire Chief Shad Cooper said.
The group was assigned to a structure protection group assigned with protecting homes and property from fire. According to the SCUF, the area is experiencing significant drought, with fire fuels cured and receptive to fire.
