LANDER - Four small wildfires flared up near Big Sandy on Wednesday and Thursday, making six blazes total since the Rainbow Family began gathering there in June.

It's not certain whether any of the four was a result of arson, as was the case with one earlier this week, officials said.

All of the fires have been relatively minor so far, and crews kept them small and contained them quickly, authorities said Thursday.

Firefighters anticipated the latest wildfires would all be contained sometime Thursday night or early this morning, said Traci Weaver, spokeswoman for the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Although authorities with the Bureau of Land Management determined the second of the two original fires - ignited Monday and contained Tuesday - was lit by an arsonist or arsonists, there hasn't yet been any indication that any of the others were maliciously lit, said Andy Norman with the Bridger-Teton.

The first blaze, Gathering 1, began June 23, and the Forest Service determined it was human-caused, but accidental, Weaver said.

The Rainbow gathering drew an estimated 7,000 participants in the first week of July, but most have since left the area, save about 100 people who are now cleaning up and restoring the site, Weaver said.

"With that many people, you're bound to have some ignitions," she said. "We had fires when they were here in the Bridger-Teton in 1994, as well."

In '94 there were two blazes associated with the Rainbow gathering, one that charred eight acres, and another that burned about a tenth of an acre, Weaver said.

So far this year fewer than five acres total have burned, according to the Forest Service.

Two of the latest fires were reported around 10 p.m. Wednesday, near the Rainbow camp in the foothills of the Wind River Mountains, and they were likely human-caused, Weaver said.

One of the fires, which authorities called Gathering 3, flared up about one mile north of the Gathering 2 fire and scorched about one acre, she said.

The other, Gathering 4, was about a quarter of an acre and flared up just a half-mile north of Gathering 2.

The Gathering 5 fire ignited Thursday morning, and Gathering 6 late Thursday afternoon, both in the same general area, Weaver said. All of the new fires are under investigation, she said.

Because the Pocatello, Idaho-based Snake River Hotshot crew was already in the area mopping up the Gathering 2 fire, the 20 Idaho firefighters along with about 30 more Forest Service personnel were able to respond almost immediately to the new fires with an engine and two helicopters. They kept the fires from spreading, Weaver said.

"Fortunately, we're not having the weather they're having in California," she said. "We're still in moderate fire danger; we haven't climbed into the high range yet because of the wet spring and the delayed green-up."

It has started to dry out in recent days near Big Sandy, however, and the fire danger will only increase in the coming weeks, Weaver said.

"I'm glad (the Rainbows) came in July and not August," she said.

As for the arson fire that was ignited Monday, BLM spokesman Roger Alexander said no new information was available regarding the investigation.

Asked if an accelerant had been used, such as gasoline, Alexander said he'd only been informed that there was no lightning, and "no natural ignition source."

Most of the Rainbow camp is pitched in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, but part of the camp straddles BLM land. All of the blazes except the arson-caused Gathering 2 fire have been on Forest Service land.

Bill Crapser, Wyoming's state forester, said the blazes around the Rainbow gathering haven't been the only wildland flare-ups this fire season, but so far the others have all been relatively tiny.

"I'd say there's been eight or nine a day across the state, but all have been real small," Crapser said.

Environment reporter Chris Merrill can be reached at chris.merrill@trib.com or at (307) 267-6722.

* Last we knew: Two small wildfires ignited and were contained in recent weeks near Big Sandy where the Rainbow Family began gathering in June. One was arson-caused.

* The latest: Four additional wildfires flared up in the Dutch Joe area Wednesday and Thursday, where about 100 Rainbow Family members are still assembled.

* What's next: Forest Service officials will investigate the cause of the fires.]]->

For comprehensive coverage of fires in the northern Rocky Mountain region, Pacific Coast and Southwest, go to www.trib.com and click on the Wildfires Center '08 button.]]->