Vehicles from Wyoming State Highway Patrol and the Albany County Sheriff's Office block Highway 230 near Wood's Landing, Wyo., June 11, 2018 after the Badger Creek Fire crossed the highway between Wold Tract and Mountain Home, Wyo.
Vehicles from Wyoming State Highway Patrol and the Albany County Sheriff's Office block Highway 230 near Wood's Landing, Wyo., June 11, 2018 after the Badger Creek Fire crossed the highway between Wold Tract and Mountain Home, Wyo.
James Rinehart, a firefighter with Big Laramie Valley Volunteer Fire Department, looks up at the sky while protecting a structure during the Badger Creek Fire June 10, 2018 in Mountain Home, Wyo.
Smoke from the Badger Creek Fire can be seen behind trees June 10, 2018 in Mountain Home, Wyo.
Smoke from the Badger Creek Fire drifts through the trees June 11, 2018, off of Highway 10, near Woods Landing, Wyo.
Mike Davis, a firefighter with Big Laramie Valley Volunteer Fire Department, looks up at the sky while protecting a structure during the Badger Creek Fire June 10, 2018 in Mountain Home, Wyo.
Smoke from the Badger Creek Fire drifts through the air as Big Laramie Valley Volunteer Fire Department firefighters work to protect structures in Mountain Home, Wyo. on June 10, 2018
A firetruck sits in front of a structure in Wycolo, Wyo. as the Badger Creek Fire burns in the distance June 10, 2018.
The sun sets behind smoke from the Badger Creek Fire June 10, 2018 in Wycolo, Wyo.
Charlie Looney, a firefighter with Albany County Central Fire Department, closes a compartment in his truck as smoke from the Badger Creek Fire drifts through the trees behind him June 10, 2018 in Mountain Home, Wyo.
A bird flies past smoke from the Badger Creek Fire June 10, 2018 in Mountain Home, Wyo.
A plane flies through smoke from the Badger Creek Fire June 10, 2018 near Mountain Home, Wyo.
Smoke from the Badger Creek Fire drifts through the air June 11, 2018, as seen from Highway 10, near Woods Landing, Wyo.
Smoke from the Badger Creek Fire drifts through the air June 11, 2018, as seen from Highway 10, near Woods Landing, Wyo.
Vehicles from Wyoming State Highway Patrol and the Albany County Sheriff's Office block Highway 230 near Wood's Landing, Wyo., June 11, 2018 after the Badger Creek Fire crossed the highway between Wold Tract and Mountain Home, Wyo.
Vehicles from Wyoming State Highway Patrol and the Albany County Sheriff's Office block Highway 230 near Wood's Landing, Wyo., June 11, 2018 after the Badger Creek Fire crossed the highway between Wold Tract and Mountain Home, Wyo.
Smoke from the Badger Creek Fire can be seen from a field off of Highway 230 near Woods Landing, Wyo., June 11, 2018.
Smoke from the Badger Creek Fire drifts through the air June 11, 2018, as seen from Highway 10, south of Woods Landing, Wyo., which was under pre-evacuation orders as of Monday afternoon.
Smoke from the Badger Creek Fire obscures the mountains as a vehicle drives down Highway 230 near Harmony, Wyo., June 11, 2018.
A wildfire spotted near Wyocolo on Sunday engulfed approximately 2,300 acres in about 24 hours, causing the U.S. Forest Service to close Wyoming Highway 230 near Woods Landing on Monday.
The fire was first reported Sunday and estimated to be about 25 acres. Dry weather and high winds, however, quickly spread the fire North and East across a couple thousand acres by Monday evening, according to a U.S. Forest Service news release.
A Type II wildland firefighter team was called in by the Forest Service to respond to the blaze, which forced evacuations from multiple locations, including Mountain Home, Wold Tract, Wyocolo, Miller Lake, Beehive and Gramm, according to the Forest Service incident website.
“The Type II team is from the Rocky Mountain region, and they are called the Black Team,” Forest Service spokesperson Aaron Voos said. “They’ll be bringing about 100 fire personnel.”
As of press time, a pre-evacuation notice was issued to Woods Landing, Fox Park and Foxborough as well as all residences south of Woods Landing to the Colorado border, he said.
No injuries or lost structures have been reported, and the Forest Service cut the power to the fire area Monday as a precautionary measure, Voos said.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but its origin was near Forest Road 501, between Badger Creek and the North Fork of Pelton Creek, about 2 miles north of the Wyoming state line.
“We are asking anyone who has been in the area where the fire started to report any information they might have that could be of use to the investigation,” Voos said. “Specifically, on Forest Road 501, Forest Road 544D and Mountain Home (off-highway vehicle) Trail System.”
Call 745-2392, press option 5 and leave a detailed message with any information about suspicious activity in the area Sunday, he said.
The fire is burning lodgepole pine in an area of the forest heavily affected by the mountain pine beetle epidemic, according to the Forest Service.
Albany County and Forest Service firefighters were the first at the scene of the fire, with two hand-crews and air support joining the response team Monday.
About 70 personnel were on the ground fighting the fire, Voos said.
“(Air support) includes the State of Wyoming helicopter, but it was unable to be used for fire suppression efforts because of high winds (Monday),” he said.
Firefighting personnel plan to fully suppress the fire by engaging the blaze in locations with the highest probability of success, the Forest Service stated in a media release. Ongoing firefighting efforts have focused on evacuation, public safety and fire assessment, Voos said. Evacuees are being asked by county officials to check in at the Harmony School on Highway 230. The Badger Creek Fire is approximately 10 miles south of the 2017 Keystone Fire, which burned 2,500 acres. Voos said both the Badger Creek and Keystone fires were in bad locations for a fire.
“Not that there is a good location, but wildfires can have some benefits, which are hard to appreciate with so many resources at risk,” he said.
While related by proximity and fuel source, the two fires are not identical, he said. “The way they’re different — with Keystone, we were fortunate we did not get any wind,” Voos explained. “This fire grew from very small to very big very fast, which was due almost completely to the weather conditions and wind.”
The Forest Service predicted the fire would continue to spread at an increasing rate if current weather predictions for today hold true.
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