Lightning-caused Horse Fire grows to nearly 900 acres on Bridger-Teton National Forest
JACKSON — A lightning-caused fire that started Friday in the Big Piney Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest grew to around 900 acres over the weekend.
The Horse Fire — named as such because it is burning in between the South Horse Creek and North Horse Creek drainages — is located roughly 10 miles west of Merna, 10 miles north of McDougal Gap and 2 miles west of Prospect Peak in Sublette County, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The fire was approximately 40 acres in size Friday and grew to 969 acres by Sunday evening. As of Monday afternoon, fire crews had been able to knock it down to around 899 acres, according to Mary Cernicek, a Bridger-Teton National Forest spokesperson and public information officer on the fire.
The fire was about 6% contained as of press time Monday.
The Bridger-Teton National Forest announced an emergency closure order Monday for Horse Creek Road, portions of North Horse Creek, Corlos Creek and Old Indian trails, as well as South Horse Creek trail and Prospect Mountain.
The order will remain in effect until July 31 unless rescinded once the fire is under control.
“It’s to reduce traffic with the amount of equipment we’ve got moving around in there,” Cernicek said. Firefighters are accessing the road with crew buggies, engines and UTVs.
The Forest Service also banned drones from flying anywhere near the fire. A drone flying in the area on Saturday halted aerial firefighting efforts. When unauthorized drones enter the airspace, Cernicek said, firefighting aircraft are often grounded to prevent midair collisions. Officials also worry about flying objects falling on firefighters’ heads.
More than 80 people have been assigned to the fire across three engines, one Type 1 Helicopter, one Type 3 Helicopter and two Type 1 hot shot crews.
Although the fire danger level in the Bridger-Teton National Forest is currently low, the lightning struck the right place at the right time, Cernicek said. Dormant conifer trees in the surrounding area haven’t taken up a ton of water this early in the summer and were excessively dry.
“Low fire danger doesn’t mean no fire danger,” she said.
The Forest Service plans to move the danger level up to moderate in the next day or two, Cernicek said.
Forest Service officials ask the public to not report smoke, which is visible from the McDougal Gap and Merna areas.
Cernicek does, however, encourage people to report smoke seen on other parts of the Bridger-Teton. Lightning fires can take a while to noticeably catch after a storm and the Forest Service may not see them for a few days until they rear up.
This story was published on June 17, 2025.