Leeds Creek fire rages on; portion of Continental Divide Trail closed

RIVERTON (WNE) — The U.S. Forest Service added more than a dozen firefighters to the crews battling a blaze 18 miles south of Dubois in the BridgerTeton National Forest.

According to an update Monday, the fire had spread to over 1,200 acres in size and was 13% contained.

A portion of the forest has been closed to the public through October 31, including a section of the Continental Divide Trail between Union Pass Road and the junction with Devil’s Basin Trail – including the entirety of the Little Devil’s Basin Trail and Fish Lake Mountain 4WD.

“Due to predicted hotter, drier conditions over the next few days, with gusty winds of up to 40 mph, expect to see more active fire and smoke in the area,” officials said in the release. Currently 95 personnel are helping to fight the fire, up from 80 on  Sunday.

The fire was reported on August 1 by a staffer who spotted smoke in the Union Pass area, and is burning mixed conifer, areas of logging slash and heavy dead and downed fuels.

A type three incident commander, one helicopter, three dozers, two type two crews, eight smokejumpers, a wildland fire module, two resource advisers, multiple fire engines and a water tender are in use to combat the wildfire.

Crews are using direct and indirect firefighting strategies and planning for an additional dozer line, which will help reinforce lines with burnout operations to lock up the edge of the blaze.

Along with portions of the Continental Divide Trail, other roads, trails and sections of the forest have been closed to the public through October 31, unless the closure is rescinded earlier.

For a description of the closed areas, visit https://inciweb.wildfire. gov/incident-information/wybtf-leeds-creek.

This story was published on August 7, 2024.