Fact Sheet 9/18/2012
Incident: Chall Creek Wildfire
Released: 9/18/2012
Summary: The Chall Creek fire began Sunday September 16, 2012 around 2:00 pm approximately 25 miles northwest of Daniel Junction, Wyoming. The cause is currently under investigation. There are approximately 270 personnel working on the fire including 6 Boise Smoke Jumpers, Helitack crews from the Bridger-Teton National Forest and Salt Lake City, 20 fire engines, 3 helicopters, 2 dozers, and 5 hand crews. This fire is under full suppression by the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Cooperators include several engines and firefighters from Sublette County.
Size: 400 acres
Objective: Public and firefighter safety, and keeping the fire confined between Thunder Road and North Beaver Road.
Recent Events: Structure protection is underway for homes along Thunder Road. Dozers and the 20 person hand crews are working to construct and secure control lines along the north and south flanks of the fire. Firefighters have successfully defended structures that are threatened and no homes have been lost.
Evacuation Information: Evacuations are still in effect for North Beaver Road, Timberline Lodge, and Siems Roads. The town of Merna and the Jim Bridger Estates are under a pre-evacuation advisory and are not being evacuated at this time. Anyone in the evacuation area needing information on the evacuation can contact the Sublette County Sheriff's Office at 307-367-4378. Anyone displaced by the fire can contact Maureen Hutchinson with the Red Cross and go to the Pinedale Middle School.
Today: A type 3 Incident Management team is assigned to the fire. A high pressure system will be moving over the fire area today bringing breezy north to northwest winds. Cooler temperatures and higher humidity is expected over the next several days. The fire is expected to be torching, spotting and the winds are predicted to be erratic and gusty through the day.
Closures: The Bridger-Teton has issued an emergency closure for Forest Road 10359 and Forest Road 10143 The Sublette County Sheriff's Office has closed the Daniel/Merna/Horse Creek Road Hwy 354 ; County Rd 115 (Merna N Beaver Rd) and Siems Rd (County Rd 163).
Fire Restrictions remain in place and the fire danger is Very High. Hunters and other campers should exercise extreme caution. For more information on this and other area fires visit http://www.tetonfires.com/ or http://www.inciweb.org/.
