JACKSON - Forest fires kicked up columns of smoke that filled the Jackson Hole valley early this week, as winds and warm temperatures fueled blazes in the backcountry of western Wyoming.

The Purdy fire, started Aug. 4 about 37 miles east of Kelly, made a big run Monday, fire information officer Pam Wilson said Tuesday. Early estimates pegged the run at 1,000 acres, bringing the fire to 5,710 acres. It was started by lightning.

The fire was also reclassified from a "wildland use fire" - one that is allowed to burn in wilderness areas to benefit wildlife habitat - to one that needed to be suppressed because it jumped the predetermined perimeter and threatened ranches and subdivisions.

Wilson said things looked better Tuesday. Staff was increased on the Dubois side of the fire, and more engines were added to patrol the blaze.

A Type I helicopter dropped water on the blaze over the weekend, and smokejumpers began building a perimeter around the fire. Air tankers also dropped retardant on the fire.

In Yellowstone National Park, the Magpie fire increased to 1,815 acres by late Monday, jumping about 500 acres since last week. It is burning seven miles east of Madison Junction and is being managed for wildland fire benefits. It was started by lightning.

Some of the areas burning were burned in 1988. The fire is being monitored on the ground, from lookout towers and from flyover flights.

Still burning 24 miles north of Pinedale in the Washakie Wilderness is the Jim Creek fire, started July 2 by lightning.

Spokeswoman Nan Stinson said fire managers are not giving containment percentages because it is being managed for wildland fire use.

"It hasn't really been growing rapidly over the last four or five days," she said, adding that the fire has grown about 100 acres. It has burned 2,050 acres total.

Stinson said although the fire has high potential for growth, it isn't necessarily going to grow. The edges of the fire are against steep rocks, she said. It should keep burning until snow falls.

The Little Venus fire, started June 19 by lightning strike, is about 90 percent contained within its 34,485 acres. It is burning west of Meeteetse and will likely kick up again as it crawls up other drainages but is expected to burn within a perimeter created by fire crews.

All of these fires were started by lightning, but Forest Service officials said Tuesday they were increasingly concerned with human-caused fires.

Of 38 wildfires on the Bridger-Teton National Forest this year, 16 were human-caused.

Dean Burnham, fire prevention officer for the Bridger-Teton, said even the 16 fires don't reflect the number of abandoned campfires patrollers find.

"Most are caught and extinguished before they escape, thus being called abandoned campfires," he said in a release. "I just don't think most people take the time necessary to properly extinguish their campfire before they leave the area. With a lot of the fires we find, it appears folks have made some attempt to put them out but didn't make sure they were 'dead out."'

People should keep buckets of water and shovels near a campfires, and drown the fires with water, stir them with shovels and make sure they're cold to the touch before leaving them.

Environmental reporter Whitney Royster can be reached at (307) 734-0260 or at royster@tribcsp.com.