Incident Management Team arrives to suppress Horse Creek Fire
Emergency Closure area in effect for trails near the fire
by Bridger-Teton National Forest
July 11, 2024
The Bridger-Teton National Forest has ordered a Type 3 Incident Management Team to help fight the Horse Creek Fire.
The fire was discovered on July 1, 2024. The lightning-caused fire is 30-acres in size and burning in timber approximately two miles northeast of the Blind Bull warming hut on the Big Piney Ranger District.
The Forest has implemented an emergency closure order for several trails in the vicinity for public safety and to allow for firefighters and equipment to move throughout the area. The Type 3 Team will assume command of the fire at 6:00am on Friday July 12, 2024.
A Type 3 Incident Management Team is brought in for fires that exceed the firefighting resources a Forest has available. The Team utilizes the Incident Command System and is staffed with supervisory positions that can order resources to fight the fire and provide oversight for several operational periods. Currently on the Horse Creek Fire, there is a crew of 10 firefighters and 1 helicopter working on the fire. Because the fire is burning in a string of conifer trees on a steep slope, the plan is to confine and contain the fire and keep firefighters out of the snags while suppressing the fire.
"We are looking for the most viable option in terms of containing the fire and safety for the firefighters who are working on the steep slopes and in the dead weakened trees," said Lex Scanlan, Forest Prevention Officer for the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
The fire danger rating for the Bridger-Teton National Forest is listed as High. That means fires can start easily from most causes and small fuels such as grasses and needles will ignite readily.
"We have been in a relatively strong heat wave this week," said Scanlan "and our humidities have been very low, which makes fire more active," she said.
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