CHRIS MERRILL Star-Tribune environment reporter | Posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 12:00 am
LANDER - Howling winds east of Yellowstone National Park fanned an already vigorous forest fire Tuesday, and several area ranches and lodges were put on evacuation alert, officials said.
The Gunbarrel fire, which is roaring through beetle-killed trees west of Cody, was buffeted by 30 mph wind gusts all afternoon and forced area residents to pack up their belongings and get ready to leave at a moment's notice, a fire team spokesman said.
Marian Geving, who lives on the Mooncrest Ranch west of Cody, said her husband was out rounding up cows while she was packing personal belongings early Tuesday afternoon after they had been warned by firefighters they might have to leave.
The fire had crested a part of Rattlesnake Mountain, Geving said, and cows that had been grazing on the east side of the mountain had to be gathered and taken by trailer away from the area.
Officials told the Gevings they likely didn't have to worry about the blaze taking their house, but Marian was nonetheless worried, she said, as persistent gusts drove the fire closer.
"They say around here it would be easy to protect, but you never know if the wind gets blowing," Geving said.
Debbie Millard, co-owner of the Elephant Head Lodge about 40 miles west of Cody, said she and her husband had sent away all of their guests, and they and their staff were packed and ready to leave Tuesday, if authorities deemed it necessary.
When asked how close the fire had gotten to the lodge, Millard said, "It's in our backyard."
"They might ask us at any point to get up and go. We have to be ready to evacuate at any moment," she said.
The Elephant Head Lodge has 15 cabins, as well as a restaurant, lounge and dining room, and the evacuation of the guests has been a blow to her business, Millard said.
"This is our high season, and we had to turn away a lot of guests," she said. "Horses had to be evacuated, and the guests that were here had to leave."
Smoke spares Cody, hits Powell
Cody Mayor Roger Sedam said town residents haven't, other than for a couple of days, had to deal with bad air quality from the fire because the winds have been sending most of the ash and smoke off to the north and northeast.
"Powell's been getting smoke," Sedam said. "Some nights the wind has been straight out of the west or northwest, and we've had some smoke that's reminiscent of 1988, but for the most part it's been clear skies over Cody."
The town's biggest concern since the start of the blaze has been keeping the road open between Cody and Yellowstone National Park, Sedam said.
"The Sheriff's Department has been on top of that since day one," he said. "Cody's economy in the summertime is based on that road being open."
Powell City Clerk Ardyce Busboom confirmed that her town has "gotten its share" of smoke from the Gunbarrel fire, and has even experienced a couple days of falling ash, she said.
Sara Allen, a respiratory therapist at Powell Valley Healthcare, said there hasn't been a noticeable increase in the number of patients coming into the hospital, but many of those who are coming in do have smoke-related complaints, she said.
"It is affecting people, but nothing extreme yet," Busboom said. "There are a lot of minor complaints. It burns your eyes, it makes your nose burn, nothing real major. It's like standing in front of a camp fire for a couple of days - you'd feel a little choked up, I suppose."
Powell residents who are most at risk, such as those with compromised lungs, are aware of the dangers and seem to do a good job of staying inside when the smoke is bad and using air conditioning to filter their breathing air, she said.
Cara Keslar, with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality's air quality division, said most of the smoke from the Gunbarrel fire was, again, traveling northeast from Cody. There was a large plume of smoke hanging over the northeast quadrant of the state, Keslar said, in parts as far south as Casper, but it didn't appear to be coming from the Gunbarrel blaze.
Instead, the smoke over Casper, Gillette and other towns was from any number of fires in Idaho, Canada or Nevada, Keslar said.
Blaze still growing
Along with the Elephant Head Lodge, officials also warned the owners of the Goff Creek Lodge on Tuesday that they, too, might have to be evacuated should the fire move closer, said Randy Moench, spokesman for the interagency fire management team.
High winds last week caused a major fire "event" that grew the fire significantly, Moench said, and Tuesday's gusty afternoon would certainly cause the fire to grow once again.
"She's roaring today," Moench said. "And I would estimate, having been through both events, that it seems windier today than it did for the last one. We're anticipating you'll probably see a big acreage change tomorrow."
Because the fire has become larger and more complex - and the numbers of firefighters, support personnel, equipment and resources dedicated to the fire have all increased in recent days - the U.S. Forest Service will bring in a larger interagency team to take over management of the blaze today, Moench said.
Contact Chris Merrill at (307) 267-6722 or chris.merrill@trib.com
Gunbarrel Fire by the numbers:
The Gunbarrel Fire is burning through beetle-killed trees between Cody and Yellowstone National Park.
$6,988,000 - The total cost of the fire management activities as of Tuesday.
55,471 - Total acreage that had been charred by the blaze as of Tuesday morning. (The fire grew significantly between Tuesday and Wednesday.)
5 - The number of helicopters working the wildfire.
2,000-3,000 gallons - The amount of water the larger helicopters can carry.
250 - The number of firefighters and staff committed to the fire.
18 - The number of fire engines that have been deployed.
32 mph - The speed of the wind gusts buffeting the blaze Tuesday afternoon.
Source: Randy Moench, spokesman, Interagency Fire Use Management Team
The Gunbarrel Fire is burning through beetle-killed trees between Cody and Yellowstone National Park.
$6,988,000 - The total cost of the fire management activities as of Tuesday.
55,471 - Total acreage that had been charred by the blaze as of Tuesday morning. (The fire grew significantly between Tuesday and Wednesday.)
5 - The number of helicopters working the wildfire.
2,000-3,000 gallons - The amount of water the larger helicopters can carry.
250 - The number of firefighters and staff committed to the fire.
18 - The number of fire engines that have been deployed.
32 mph - The speed of the wind gusts buffeting the blaze Tuesday afternoon.
Source: Randy Moench, spokesman, Interagency Fire Use Management Team]]->