Above: The Martin Fire, September 16, 2018. InciWeb.
(UPDATED at 7:02 a.m. MDT September 19, 2018)
The Roosevelt Fire 30 air miles south of Jackson, Wyoming was very active Tuesday growing to within 3 miles of Highway 191. Since it started September 15 it has spread 16 miles to the east. When it was mapped at 10:45 p.m. Tuesday the fire was 6 miles south of Bondurant. Most of the blaze at that time was within the Bridger-Teton National Forest but began to move onto private land on the east side near Muddy Creek Road late in the day.
To see the all of the articles about the Roosevelt Fire on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, click HERE.
The mapping flight Tuesday night determined the fire had burned approximately 25,168 acres, which was almost three times the size we estimated it had burned at 2:59 p.m. Tuesday.
The Marten Creek Fire 50 miles south of Jackson was much less active Tuesday afternoon and evening.
(Originally published at 9:38 p.m. MDT September 18, 2018)
It is not every year that in mid-September we see wildfires south of Jackson, Wyoming spreading rapidly at 7,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level.
The Roosevelt Fire started September 15 about 30 air miles south of Jackson and spread to the east over a 10,000-foot ridge. At about 3 p.m. Tuesday it had spread along the east slope back down to 7,000 feet, 7 miles south of Bondurant.
The Great Basin Incident Management Team 6 led by Incident Commander Jeff Knudson will assume command of the fire Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
Fire officials said it is a full suppression fire “utilizing natural barriers. These barriers will aid in slowing the fire growth. In other areas that are safe to have firefighters working direct, we will be using that tactic.”
The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office has issued Evacuation Orders for several areas. Their Facebook page has the latest official information.
Our very UNOFFICIAL estimate of the size of the Roosevelt Fire, based on heat detected by a satellite flying 200 miles overhead at 2:59 p.m. MDT September 18 puts it about 9,000 acres.
The Marten Creek Fire started near Gray River Road September 16, about 50 miles south of Jackson and has also worked its way up to a 10,000-foot ridge. It is 12 miles east of Afton, Wyoming. Strong winds aligned with the topography significantly increased the fire behavior Monday and Tuesday.
Tuesday evening a Type 2 Incident Management Team will begin transitioning with the local Type 3 team, in association with the U.S. Forest Service. The fire was human caused and is currently under investigation. Fire officials said Tuesday night the fire has burned about 5,700 acres.
The area will be under a Red Flag Warning Wednesday. The forecast for the fire area calls for a high of 70 degrees at 7,800 feet, winds out of the southwest at 15 mph gusting to 23, and relative humidity in the low teens.
God Bless all those in harms way…homes, families, livestock and wildlife and all those firefighters risking their lives every moment of every day. Diane
My fiance Jerad Francis is on the Lost River Fire Management crew fighting fires there and I have not heard anything from him since Wednesday the 19th. I am very worried.
My daughter texted and said the phone towers are going out and by the time I responded it was gone.that was 9:00 on sunday.Take care and his bless.
Prayers for the safety of everyone involved.
God bless and protect all the firefighters and workers who are out there on the lines. Prayers are also there for the residents too. Pam
Why isn’t there logging and tree clean up with all the dead trees? Wouldn’t that be better for all involved ? Financially, environmentally and safety for all? Can’t people use the old wood for heating their homes, maybe donate to the elderly who can’t cut wood? Or teaching kids hard work and showing how to split wood etc? So many things can be done .
You’ve never been here have you? Besides the fact that what you have suggested is financially and practically impossible given the millions of acres of forest in the American west that are in the same condition as the forest burning in Wyoming today, our government has seen fit to continually cut the Forest Service and BLM budgets to the point that that they can barely maintain roads and other Forest infrastructure much less worry about the trees.