News Release

Fire Danger Decreased to High

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News Release Date: August 30, 2018
Contact: Andrew White, 307.739.3431

Western WY —The fire danger rating for Grand Teton National Park, Bridger-Teton National Forest and the rest of the Teton Interagency Dispatch Area has decreased to high. Recent rain and cooler temperatures across the area have lowered the fire danger; however significant moisture is still needed to reduce the potential for new fire starts and to prevent those starts from becoming larger fires.

The high fire danger rating means fires can start easily and spread quickly. Fire managers use a variety of factors to determine fire danger ratings including the moisture content of grasses, shrubs, and trees; projected weather conditions; and the ability of fire to spread after ignition.

On Wednesday, August 29, Teton Interagency Fire managers responded to two new fire starts on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The human-caused White Rock Fire is currently one-quarter of an acre near Upper Green River Lake. The lightning-caused Beaver Trail Fire is burning one-tenth of an acre near Lookout and Horse mountains in the Wyoming Range. These new fire starts demonstrate that conditions are still ripe for wildland fire. Abandoned campfires can still escalate into wildfires, and it is important that all campfires are completely extinguished and cold to the touch before campers leave their site.

In addition to responding to smaller local fires, Teton Interagency firefighting and incident management resources have been busy supporting incidents across the western United States.

In recent weeks, interagency staff, incident management teams, fire engines, helicopters, and hand crews have responded to the Britania Mountain Fire in southeastern Wyoming, the Mill Creek 1 Fire in California, the South Sugarloaf Fire in Nevada, the Stewart Creek Fire in Idaho, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park recovery efforts, and other incidents.
 
Visit the Teton Interagency Fire web site at tetonfires.com to learn more about fire safety and current fire status. To report a fire or smoke in the immediate area, call the Teton Interagency Fire Dispatch Center at 307.739.3630.

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