Rainfall Does Little to Stop Spread of Soda Lake Fire

Rainfall Does Little to Stop Spread of Soda Lake Fire

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service Large Air Tanker made several drops in the area yesterday. (Photo credit: US Forest Service - Bridger-Teton National Forest.)

BIG PINEY — Despite recent rainfall, crews continue to fight the 96-acre Soda Lake Fire west of Big Piney, Wyoming.

Wyoming Team 2 will be transferring command to Great Basin-Nevada Team 2, another type 3 team, on Friday, July 30.

The Soda Lake fire is actively burning in a mixture of subalpine forest, sage, and meadows just south of Soda Lake in the South Cottonwood Creek drainage. This area is approximately three miles from the forest boundary near Bureau of Land Management, state, and private land.

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The fire was first spotted the afternoon of Tuesday, July 27 around 3 pm. The initial and current response include a mixture of federal, local, and contract resources. Ground and air crews are currently working to fully suppress the fire to protect multiple, at-risk values.

Air resources assigned to the fire include light, medium, and heavy helicopters and multiple air tankers. A New South Wales Rural Fire Service Large Air Tanker on loan from Australia to the National Interagency Fire Center made multiple drops on the fire yesterday.

Thunderstorms brought measurable rainfall to the area Wednesday afternoon and are forecast to return over the next few days. Monsoon moisture may bring significant rainfall to check fire behavior.

However, unstable weather can also produce strong and erratic winds and lightning. The Bridger-Teton National Forest remains under Stage 1 fire restrictions. Bridger-Teton National Forest Closure Orders and Alerts: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/btnf/alerts-notices