Red Rock Fire NE of Jackson reaches 2,835 acres
by Bridger-Teton National Forest
August 23, 2011
JACKSON, WYOMING – The Red Rock Fire is burning on the Bridger-Teton National Forest approximately 26-miles northeast of Jackson and has burned 2,835 acres to date.
The fire was discovered Saturday, August 20 around 1:30pm and was determined to have been ignited by lightning. The fire was flown over last night with infra-red equipment to better estimate the size of the burned area.
Visitors are encouraged to avoid the area and refrain from recreating in areas of smoke in that vicinity. Fire apparatus are in constant use of the winding roads around the fire and spectators need to be careful around the emergency equipment.
The fire is expected to continue to grow as hot and dry weather conditions persist. A specialized Type 3 incident management team has been assigned to the fire to assure that the many objectives set by Forest officials are met, including firefighter and public safety, protection of private property, as well as allowing the natural ecological process of wildland fire to occur in the Gros Ventre wilderness. An Incident Management Team (IMT) is a team that supports ongoing Forest firefighting operations. They are made up of support personnel that work on different aspects of the fire through use of the incident command system and predetermined roles and responsibilities for the members. For this fire, a helicopter capable of moving a lot of water, a crew of Hotshot firefighters and two additional fire engines has been requested. Jackson Hole Fire & EMS based in Jackson have also sent a support engine and personnel.
The fire is predicted to continue moving eastward into Alkali basin. Firefighters will likely ignite a backfire along the Gros Ventre road to burn out and remove fuels between the fire and the road in an effort to keep the blaze where managers want it to be. Additional information on this fire can be found at www.tetonfires.com.
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