Update:  30 Jul - Mon - 6:30 pm

Yellowstone National   Park officials report that the Arthur Fire that closed the park's East Entrance Road to all inbound and outbound traffic on Sunday, July 29, is now estimated at around 900 acres and is about one mile west of the park's East Entrance. At some locations, the fire is less that 150 yards from the road; the road will remain closed until it is safe to reopen to traffic.

Today's weather forecast--which was calling for gusty, strong winds with low humidity and temperatures in the 80s--was much milder than expected. Temperatures were in the mid-70s; winds were much lower than expected; and the relative humidity was around 17 percent. Tomorrow's forecast is predicting increased cloudiness, decreasing winds; higher humidity (30-36 percent), and temperatures in the mid-60s. 

Park staff have been in full suppression mode since the fire was first reported. Today's air tankers were able to do one fire retardant drop and a number of water bucket drops before winds prevented further drops. There are no ground crews on the fire at this time because of safety concerns; the fire is located in rugged, steep terrain. Structural fire protection was done at the East Entrance, and an irrigation system is now operational. The evacuation of park staff and their families, less than a dozen people, was completed today; no other evacuations have been necessary or are expected in the park. 

An incident management team is onsite and should be operational by tomorrow. Additional resources will be arriving throughout the next several days. Currently, there are around 60 people assigned to the fires; by tomorrow that number should increase to around 250 or more. 

Park officials remind visitors that all entrances, except for the East Entrance, remain open, as well as all visitor and park facilities, including all lodging, food services, general stores, gift shops, and campgrounds. Park visitors whose travel route takes them through Cody, Wyoming, can access the park through the Northeast Entrance. The nighttime closure (9 p.m. to 9 a.m.) between Madison and Norris for road construction remains in place.