ROCK SPRINGS – A fire on a railroad bridge near the Gosar trailer park caused by three minors was quickly extinguished Wednesday afternoon.
Assistant Fire District No. 1 Chief Jacob Ribordy said the fire district was dispatched at 3:06 p.m., responding with two pumper trucks, two brushfire trucks and 14 firefighters. He also said the Rock Springs Fire Department also responded to the fire, helping shuttle water on the fire. Ribordy said ensuring the fire didn’t spread to nearby sagebrush wasn’t a major concern because the moisture level in the plants is still high, though firefighters assigned with the brushfire trucks were deployed around the bridge to help ensure it wouldn’t spread.
Ribordy said the fire was started by three minors and more details will be released in the future. He also said Union Pacific has closed the spur to future use until the bridge is repaired.
One nearby resident sprung into action with a fire extinguisher until firefighters arrived. Boyd Lester said he had just gone to Autozone for spark plugs when he noticed smoke coming from behind his house. Lester noticed two boys quickly riding their bikes away from the smoke and grabbed a fire extinguisher and started putting out smaller fires near the bridge to keep it from spreading while a neighbor called emergency responders.
Lester said creosote fires burn hot and knew he wouldn’t be able to do anything about the fire on the bridge, but tried to do his part by keeping it from spreading until firefighters arrived.
More photos are available below:
