17 fires in five days, Majority of Weston County now in extreme drought

Alexis Barker

NLJ News Editor

With little precipitation falling to counter lightning storms and increased drought conditions, conditions are ripe for wildfire startups in northeast Wyoming. Weston County firefighters have been battling a bunch of blazes in the past week, with 17 fires reported over five days, according to Weston County Fire Warden Daniel Tysdal. According to data provided previously by Tysdal, this brings Weston County’s total fire count since July to 47. 

The new round of fires came after a series of lightning storms that brought little to no precipitation, and a string of fires began on Aug. 21, according to Tysdal’s report. 

Below is a list of incidents responded to by Weston County firefighters, the area involved, the acreage burned and the resources used. The information was provided by Tysdal. 

Both Tysdal and Gilbert Nelson, Weston County emergency management coordinator, acknowledged the hard work of not only the local firefighters but also landowners, businesses, county employees and many others who volunteered their time to ensure that these fires were taken care of quickly. 

While Weston County has been battling its share of fires recently, the situation is just as bad — or worse — in other parts of northern Wyoming. Firefighters from across the state have been battling a number of large fires, and more information on fires across Wyoming can be found by visiting the News Letter Journal website, newslj.com, and clicking on the Wyoming news tab. 

Drought increases

As the fire danger in Weston County continues, it is clear that the drought in Weston County continues to worsen. 

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 75.17% of Weston County is now listed as being in D3, or extreme drought. This is up from 0% the previous week. 

D3 drought is described as poor snowpack and inadequate surface water for ranching and farming. 

At the same time, 100% of the county is listed as being in D1 drought, or moderately dry, with 98.12% of that being D2 drought or severe drought. Traits of a severe drought include poor pasture conditions, stressed trees and vegetation and low water pressure and levels, while D1 drought is described as having low hay and forage yield, elevated fire danger and fewer wildflower blooms. 

Weston County Fires

1: 8-21-2024: Robbers Roost fire: Weston County and Bureau of Land Management resources responded to a grass fire south of Newcastle on the Morrissey Road. Fire was contained at 4.41 acres by four engines, two tenders and one dozer.

2: 8-21-2024: Soda Butte 2 fire: Weston County resources responded to a grass fire south of Upton off the Soda Butte Road. Fire was contained at around 10 acres.

3: 8-21-2024: Wildlife Draw fire: Weston County resources responded to a grass fire in the area of Wildlife Draw and quickly contained it to about 1 acre.

4: 8-21-2024: Geier fire: Weston County resources responded to a fire on the Geier Ranch west of Newcastle. Resources responding included 13 engines, four tenders, three blades and one dozer. Fire was contained at 1,474 acres.

5: 8-21-2024: Oil Creek fire: Weston County resources responded to a single tree snag off the Oil Creek Road. Fire was quickly contained by a nearby landowner and one engine at 0.10 acre.

6: 8-21-2024: Sixmile Basin fire: Weston County resources responded to a grass fire North of Wyoming Highway 450 near Sixmile Basin. Three engines, three tenders, and one blade contained the fire at approximately 100-150 acres.

7: 8-21-2024: Red Canyon fire: Weston County and Wyoming State Forestry Division resources responded to a timber fire south of Ertman Road and east of Oil Creek Road. Fire was contained at about 0.25 acres by four engines.

8: 8-21-2024: Alkali fire: Weston County and Niobrara County resources responded to a grass fire off the Grieves Road. Thirteen engines, seven blades, two dozers and six tenders contained the fire at about 1,400 acres.

9: 8-21-2024: Coyote Canyon fire: Weston County and Wyoming State Forestry Division resources responded to a timber fire west of Oil Creek Road. Five engines, one blade, one tender and one dozer, along with one helicopter and the Wyoming State Smokebusters on Thursday contained the fire at 196 acres.

10: 8-21-2024: Red Canyon 2 fire: Weston County resources responded to a second fire near the Ertman Road/Oil Creek Road intersection. Fire was contained at about 0.5 acres by four engines.

11: 8-21-2024: Black Canyon fire: Weston County resources responded to a timber fire near Black Canyon off the Skull Creek Road. Fire was contained at 1.07 acres by two engines.

12: 8-22-2024: Goodson fire: Weston County resources responded to a grass fire north of Highway 450/east of Wyoming Highway 116. The fire was contained at 1,033 acres by 16 engines, two tenders, six blades and two dozers. 

13: 8-22-2024: Love Canyon fire: Weston County resources responded to a timber fire near Love Canyon. Fire was contained at about 1 acre by one engine.

14: 8-22-2024: Cold Creek fire: Weston and Crook counties and Black Hills National Forest resources responded to a timber fire west of Buckhorn. The fire was contained at about 0.10 acre by six engines and one dozer.

15: 8-22-2024: Turner Reservoir fire: Weston County and Thunder Basin National Grassland resources responded to a timber fire west of Turner Reservoir. The fire was contained at 3 acres by 14 engines, three tenders, four blades, two dozers and one helicopter. 

16: 8-24-2024: West Fork fire: Weston County and Wyoming State Forestry Division resources responded to a timber fire near the intersection of Skull Creek Road and Green Mountain Road. The fire was contained at 2 acres by 15 engines, three tenders and one dozer. Additionally, the Wyoming State Smokebusters completed mop-up of the fire the following day.

17: 8-25-2024: Fourmile Draw fire: Weston County resources responded to a timber fire northeast of the Newcastle airport where six engines, two tenders and one dozer contained the fire at 0.10 acre.