LANDER - A large forest fire churning through beetle-killed trees east of Yellowstone National Park is threatening the future of at least one local business, a lodge owner said Thursday.

And she's frustrated that officials let the fire burn for so long before taking action to put it out, she said.

Debbie Millard, co-owner of the Elephant Head Lodge, about 40 miles west of Cody, said the Gunbarrel fire has been "grim" for business this summer.

And although she understands the reasons for letting a natural fire consume dead fuels, she also believes those benefits should be weighed against potential costs to area enterprises, she said.

"It's really frustrating for us, this whole thing," Millard said. "This is majorly affecting us economically and it has drug on for a month. When a small business has a three-month high season, when you have three months to make your money, a month is a big deal."

The Gunbarrel blaze was ignited by lightning on July 26, and as of Thursday it had scorched nearly 60,000 acres - or 94 square miles - of forest.

Up until the end of this month the fire had been managed as a wildland "use" fire, where authorities were letting it "clean up" excess dead fuels and thin the forest for long-term ecological health.

When the blaze moved closer to private residences and structures, the interagency fire team made a more aggressive push to suppress and contain portions of it, authorities said this week.

When high winds pushed the fire into the Elephant Head Lodge's "backyard" recently, all of the guests had to be evacuated, and other potential guests had to be turned away, Millard said.

Firefighters completed a successful back-burn Wednesday to protect the lodge's main building and its 15 cabins, fire officials said.

The lodge was again open for business on Thursday, Millard said, but the fire, and the media attention to it, has caused many potential customers to stay away.

"We're trying to get back in business. We may make it through, or we may not," she said.

Millard hopes local, state and federal officials will consider the cost that the "let-it-burn" decision has exacted on small businesses like hers, and perhaps think about putting together some sort of economic aid for those directly impacted.

A different take

Other lodge owners in the same area, however, said they agree with the decision to let the fire burn, even though it probably hurt their bottom lines this summer.

Kerry Boyd, who owns the nearby Absaroka Mountain Lodge with his wife, Theresa, said he believes the fire will ultimately be beneficial for the area.

"It did impact us a little bit, but in the long run I think it's going to be a lot better situation," Boyd said. "It cleaned up the fuel, and now we don't have to worry for the next 50 to 60 years."

Boyd said the firefighters and support staff have done an outstanding job of managing the blaze and protecting area residents.

"It had a little bit of an impact on business, but life's not perfect. You've got to take the good with the bad. That's just mother nature," Boyd said.

Ray McCoy, who manages the nearby Crossed Sabres Guest Ranch with his wife Linda, expressed a similar perspective. But he added that his business has not been hit as hard as that of the Elephant Head Lodge.

Although the ranch had to be evacuated for about a week, McCoy said, he believes the fire will ultimately be a benefit to the area and its businesses.

"I cannot begin to congratulate the efforts of the Forest Service and the fire service," McCoy said. "This is a natural phenomenon that takes place, and it's definitely a requirement in order to regenerate our forest. On our side of the highway, for longer than I'll ever live - we're out of fire danger now."

The interagency fire team has done a great job of protecting private properties, he said. He also "can't speak highly enough" of the firefighters or the animal rescue evacuation team that took his horses to safety, McCoy said.

He acknowledged that the fire has been a blow to his business, effectively cutting it in half this summer.

"We're going to take it on the chin," he said. "It's going to be a lot of recovery for the businesses and the forest, but in the long run there's going to be benefits. It was inevitable, and it happened this year, and next year will be a good season for us, we hope."

The nearby Goff Creek Lodge remained on evacuation alert Thursday afternoon, but the Star-Tribune was unable to contact its owners.

The Shoshone National Forest remained closed from the Sweetwater Drainage to the forest boundary, and roughly to Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, according to an incident management team media release Thursday. An area along Rattlesnake Creek remains open to the public.

Contact Chris Merrill at (307) 267-6722 or chris.merrill@trib.com

94 - The total square miles of forest that have burned so far.

$7,800,000 - The total cost of managing the fire since it started on July 26.

13 percent - The amount of the blaze that has been contained.

364 - The number of people dedicated to the fire for the national incident management team.

45 mph - The speed of some westerly wind gusts fanning the blaze this week.

7 - The number of helicopters working the fire.

3 - The number of firefighters that have been injured.]]->