Fontenelle Fact Sheet for Tuesday, July 3, 2012, at 9:00 PM
Incident: Fontenelle Fire Wildfire
Released: 7/3/2012
Fontenelle Fact Sheet for Tuesday, July 3, 2012, at 9:00 p.m.
Status: The Fontenelle Fire is burning on the Bridger-Teton National Forest, BLM High Desert District and State/Private Lands approximately 17 miles west of Big Piney, Wyoming. The fire began on June 24, 2012. The fire is currently burning in heavy, dead timber with occasional areas of grass and sage in the lower elevations.
Fire Statistics: 56,179 acres burned | 15% contained | 811 Personnel on scene
Recent Events: Crews are making headway in creating a fire line around a large part of the southwest portion of the fire. Fire crews have been ordered from Alaska to help local resources with mop up efforts. As of today, there are over 800 personnel on the fire.
The northeast section of the fire put up a lot of smoke and chewed through some of the groundcover due to the Red Flag Warning. Though there was lower humidity and higher winds, the fire did not drastically change in size. This was partially due to having two Type 2 helicopters and one Type 1 helicopter dropping buckets of water on the perimeter.
Aerial resources also increased today. There are currently two Type 3 helicopters, three Type 2 helicopters and two Type 1 helicopters.
Today's Strategy: Firefighters continued line construction around the fires perimeter. Mop -up operations were continued on portions of the fire, working 50' to 100' into the black. The fire was expected to make more progress to the north. Firefighters on the northeast section of the fire were seeking opportunities to locate hot spots and construct line when safe to do so.
Fire managers requested that the public avoid using Middle Piney Road to minimize congestion and ensure safety.
Forecast: The Red Flag Warning is no longer in effect and slightly cooler temperatures will start tomorrow. Lower temperatures, wind speed and increased humidity is forecasted through the weekend.
Closures: Road closures at present extend from the forest boundary at the top of Bare Pass at Red Castles, west to N. Piney Meadows and Tri Basin Divide, south to Cheese Pass, Mount Isabel, and Red Park, east to the junction of LaBarge Creek Road and the forest boundary, and north to Bare Pass. The road closure on Middle Piney Road may move east depending on fire conditions. Further closures may be needed to ensure firefighter and public safety. The public is asked to be cautious when driving on the LaBarge Road between Hwy. 189 to the closure at the forest boundary as there may be large fire engines, fire traffic and impact from smoke.
More Information: Please visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/btnf , http://www.inciweb.org/, or http://www.tetonfires.com/, or follow us on Twitter at @WildeType2 IMT.
Due to less fire activity, future updates will only be completed once a day at 9 a.m. This will be the last p.m. update.
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