Sulphur Fire Information
This page may not be updated daily because there may be no new fire activity to report.
Started: 15 August / Out:
UTMs: 546.5 x 4943
The Sulphur Fire, started by lightning, was reported on August 15th. This fire is located across the river from Mud Volcano, more than a mile from the road, and is visible at times. The fire is currently estimated at 5 acres. The fire is being closely monitored throughout the day.
Update - 08 Oct - Mon
Fire monitors were on the Sulphur Fire today. There was no growth on this fire, some activity in jackpots of heavy down and dead fuels. Similar activity was reported on the Little fire by the Mt. Holmes lookout. There was no recon on the Flat fire as the last recon on Sunday reported only smoldering activity in the ground fuels.
Update - 06 Oct - Sat
Even though the temperatures moderated today with low RH's and moderate winds, there was no acreage growth to report today. The Sulphur and Little fires became active in the late afternoon, but it was mainly burning concentrations of down and dead fuels in from the perimeter. Fire monitors were on the ground on the Sulphur fire and aerial recons were done on the Sulphur, Little and Flat. No new fire activity was reported on the Stone, Arthur or Falcon fires.
Update - 05 Oct - Fri
There was an increase of 30 acres for an updated total of 3,690 acres. Fire monitors were out on the fire today and reported increased fire behavior activity with trees torching and small runs. The low RH's and direct sunlight seemed to be the main factors in the increased activity today. A fire research group also visited the fire today. The plan is to continue to have fire monitors on the ground on a daily basis and to conduct recon flights and mapping updates.
Update - 04 Oct - Thu
There was no increase in fire size today with the cooler temps and higher RH's. Fire monitors were on the ground all day. The fire smoldered and continues to burn to the NE.
Update - 03 Oct - Wed
The Sulphur grew 60 acres to 3,660. The main activity was on the perimeter and the spot fires. There was short range spotting, a moderate amount of smoke and overall moderate fire behavior and spread. Fire monitors were on the ground again today and recon flights updated the fire growth maps. The fire continues to spread to the NE away from any developments at the Canyon developed area and the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. There are no current or predicted threats to any developed areas or structures.
Update - 02 Oct - Tue
The Sulphur fire was more active today and a spot fire was located some 1 1/2 miles out in front of the main body of the fire. A Remote Weather Station (RAWS) was relocated to the Sulphur fire to provide continous fire weather information which will allow more accurate fire behavior predictions. It was estimated that only about 40% of the area inside the fire perimeter had burned.
Fire monitors were on the ground in several locations. The fire was mapped via GPS and the updated acreage is 3,600,a gain of 190 acres. Fire monitors will be on the ground again on Wednesday and recons will be conducted.
Update - 01 Oct - Mon
The fire was flown today updating the acreage and fire perimeter and ground monitors gathered fuel samples and weather observations. Fire behavior activity was similar to Sunday with a lot of smoke but the fire was burning the interior areas of the fire that had not previously burned. The fire has underbunrned much of the area and has a mosaic pattern, so it is not all heavy stand replacement burn. There was additional acreage gain from the activity on Sunday. The current acreage is 3,410.
Update - 27 Sep - Thu
The Sulphur made a major run today and crossed Cottongrass Creek moving in a North East direction over into Sour Creek. Lake Rangers and Backcountry staff were contacted and consulted with and all trails and campsites were closed. See Backcountry or Lake Rangers for exact details. The fire monitors returned from the field around 9:00 p.m. tonight. Combining their report and the report of the helicopter crew who flew the fire on their way back from supporting the Shoshone on an initial attack, it is estimated that the Sulphur fire grew to at least 3,000 acres and maybe as high as 5,000.
The fire will be flown early on Friday to determine its position and size and what future actions are needed. The fire moved mainly to the North East and away from the road from Lake to Canyon. It also moved away from the Canyon developed area but this will be closely evaluated.
There is a fire weather watch on for Friday for high winds and low relative humidity which means another active fire day. So expect another day of significant fire activity from the Sulphur fire, large convection columns and a lot of smoke.
Update - 25 Sep - Tue
The fire monitors were in place all day and reported that fire activity picked up at about 11:30 a.m. but by 2:00 p.m. had not built to the level of Monday afternoon due to the increase in cloud cover and light winds. The fire perimeter was accurately mapped with the revised acreage at 1158. Most of this growth would have been on Monday afternoon and overnight.
The fire continues to meet all criteria to continue as a fire use fire. The fire will be monitored daily.
Update - 24 Sep - Mon
The Sulphur Fire was very active today, putting up an impressive convection column to over 15,000'. The fire was flown and mapped again today and there were fire monitors on the ground all day. The initial update had an acreage gain of 75-100 acres putting the fire size at 910 to 935 acres. The main activity was on the northwest and northern flanks. The fire burned across a drainage running southwest to northeast and burned into a dense pocket of an older growth stand. When this dense pocket burned, the smoke turned darker and the smoke column was the tallest. There was short range spotting to the west and north, but the fire is mainly burning on the ground then torching out small groups of trees from the heat released from the fuels.
The fire continues to burn well and will be allowed to continue as a fire use fire. This fire does not pose any threat to life and property. This fire will continue to burn actively until we receive significant moisture and will put up a lot of smoke and will smoke in Hayden Valley, Canyon, Lake and possibly Mammoth and Tower, depending on the atmospheric conditions and the amount of smoke produced.
Fire monitors will be assigned daily to this fire, the fire will be flown for mapping and fire behavior updates as necessary into October or until significant precipitation is received.
Update - 18 Sep - Tue
There was some activity on the northwest flank, quite a few hot spots, and several open flame and torching of one or two trees. There has not been any noticeable growth of this fire since last mapped but the fire still has some potential to grow to the north and east. Fire size remains at 825 acres.
Update - 16 Sep - Sun
The lookout could see a few whisps of smoke off the Sulphur fire today but nothing of significance. The acreage estimate remains at 825.
Update - 05 Sep - Wed
Smokes were evident all along the perimeter as well as the interior of the burn. One hotspot on the northwest flank saw the occasional torching tree. The fire remains at 825 acres.
Update - 03 Sep - Mon
The fire was mapped today at 825 acres, The fire was particularly active on its western flank, where it crossed a drainage with a limited rated of spread. Monitors continued to collect live fuel moisture sampling and observe fire behavior today.
Update - 30 Aug - Thurs
All flanks of the fire were again active today. Fire spread was observed to the northeast, mostly by isolated torching and spotting out ahead. Expansion on the east flank was mostly due to continued backing down slope. The west flank similarly increased by spotting out as well. One spot fire 0.6 miles to the northeast of the main body became active again, but activity was mainly confined to the ground fuels. The fire was mapped at 700 acres, but plenty of unburned fuels remain within the established perimeter.
Update - 28 Aug - Tues
Spread was observed to the north, south, and east. The south flank slowly backed down the slope, while the northeast flank continued to move upslope with short-duration crown runs and spotting. The upslope head of the fire continues to widen, and intense heat is being generated there in the ground fuels. Plenty of unburned fuels remain within the perimeter, which is mapped at 540 acres.
Update - 27 Aug - Mon
Plenty of heat build-up and frequent torching was observed at the head of the fire. Unburned fuels within the perimeter also torched on occasion. The south flank made short-duration crown runs as downdrafts from a passing thunder cell influenced local fire behavior. The fire was mapped at 380 acres.
Update - 26 Aug - Sun
More torching and short-duration crown fire runs were observed, although direction of spread shifted from directly east to southeast in response to west/northwest winds. The head of the fire has gotten progressively wider as numerous spots ahead of the main fire have burned together. Ground fuels continue to hold the heat in advance of the daily burn period, and jackpiles were actively burning throughout the night. The fire crossed the ridge upslope to the east via spotting very late in the burn period. The fire was mapped in mid-afternoon at 250 acres.
Update - 25 Aug - Sat
Extreme heat build-up was again observed in the ground fuels as the fire made an upslope run to the east along the south flank. Short-duration crown fire was observed beginning about 4:00 pm. The fire is spotting ahead of itself, and these spots will probably get active tomorrow and continue upslope in an easterly direction. The fire was mapped at 42 acres and is being managed for resource benefit.
Update - 24 Aug - Fri
The Sulphur fire continues to spread slowly through surface fuels. Heavier continuous fuels exist to the north/northeast, but the fire will have a hard time getting there under current rates of spread. The fire will be manned by two monitors who will GPS the perimeter. It is estimated to be 6 acres in size and managed for resource benefits.
