Three wildland firefighter trucks lost in Laramie County station fire

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A fire severely damaged Laramie County Fire Authority Station 74 on Saturday, destroying three wildland firefighting apparatus that were to be deployed to assist in fighting fires in California.

LCFA responded to a structure fire at the non-operational fire station, located in the 8800 block of Yellowstone Road, around 7:45 p.m. Saturday.

Built in 1974, the station houses the fire mechanic and wildland firefighting program but does not participate in local response, meaning that the fire did not disrupt emergency responses in the area, according to an LCFA news release.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Laramie County Sheriff ’s Office are actively investigating the cause of the fire.

No one was injured, since the building isn’t typically staffed, according to LCFA Chief Jason Caughey. The fire did, however, cause extensive damage and appeared to burn internally for a while before external signs triggered the initial 911 call.

Three of the vehicles lost in the fire were scheduled to take a team of Wyoming firefighters to California, where they will join in efforts to combat the historic wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

Despite its own losses this weekend, the team will head for California Tuesday morning without the additional vehicles. It will assist the California Fire Service, along with other Laramie County agencies and teams from Wyoming, including the Wyoming Air National Guard, which deployed three C-130s on Friday. 

This story was published on January 15, 2025.