Management team and Governor Gordon discuss impact of fires at meeting on Tuesday

GILLETTE, Wyoming – After a busy week of firefighting throughout northern Wyoming, Southwest Incident Management Team 5 held a meeting in Gillette Tuesday evening to provide the public with information about the fire.

The management team took control of the Campbell County fires last week, as well as the Remington Fire in Sheridan County and the House Draw Fire in Johnson County. Emergency Meteorologist Bruno Rodriguez, who works with the management teams, explained to the crowd gathered at CAM-PLEX's Energy Hall Tuesday night the unique weather conditions that contributed to the fires in the region.

Dry lightning strikes in the area, followed by a “wave” of southerly winds on the night of August 22, contributed greatly to fire activity that day, he said. Rainfall on Thursday improved the situation, but with hot weather forecast for the next few days, fire danger in the future cannot be ruled out.

While some weather factors, such as humidity or wind, could be of concern on certain days, a combination of these factors would be less likely. “As we look at the next seven days, there's just not a great deal of consistency between these critical weather variables,” Rodriguez said.

A variety of speakers from the response team took the stage that evening, as did Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, who personally spoke to the ranchers in the audience. Gordon's own ranch was hit hard by fire in 2008, and he and his administration are working hard to put together a page of online resources for those affected.

“I want you to know that we are working very hard to create a central point of contact that you can go to to find out what resources you need. It will take a little while to get everything set up … to inventory the losses that we have,” Gordon said. Accurately accounting for losses would also help achieve a national disaster declaration for the area. Additional resources such as hay and available pasture land are also being worked on, as are preparations for treating areas where pasture grass will regrow in the coming year.

In addition to these efforts, the management team has set up a phone line for private landowners whose property suffered damage during the firefighting effort, such as fallen fences. The number, team leadership explained, would help the team map out those requesting repairs.

Those interested in repairs have their information entered into a field map that shows their location and the specific repairs they need, said Team Five incident commander Dave Gesser. The maps are color-coded based on what projects are currently underway or need to be addressed.

“This information will be shared with the districts and local authorities so that the work can continue and be completed for the people,” Gesser said.

To reach the private property closure phone number, click here. For more information from the Incident Management Team, click here. The entire Tuesday meeting will be released by the county even for those who were unable to attend.