The Willow Creek Fire burning south of Smoot remained at 73% containment according to the most recent update from officials on Tuesday. The fire is at 4,066 acres in size.
Forest officials are making a change in their philosophy for the area as the Wyoming Interagency Management Type 3 Team 3 shifted to a suppression repair strategy, while utilizing a full suppression strategy approach for the incident wherever necessary. Firefighters continued work to tie in all remaining edges of the fire, felling snags and hazard trees that pose a threat to fire lines. Working in muddy conditions following rain in previous days, crews began road repair and continued to secure lines and address hot spots as they flared up.
Today, crews will continue suppression repair tactics as well as monitoring hot areas on the north side of the fire, where most activity continues to be seen. Crews are also preparing for possible lightning, as thunderstorm patterns begin to move into the area this week.
WEATHER:
Morning rain and thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are expected throughout the day and into the week. A 45% chance of heavy rain is expected today, with gusty winds in the vicinity of thunderstorms. Low pressure moves over the area later in the week, with Friday seeing cooler temperatures and the best chance of rain.
EVACUATION/CLOSURE INFORMATION
No evacuations are currently in place. For the most current evacuation and emergency updates, follow Lincoln County Homeland Security & Emergency Management on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/
The most current closure order for the Willow Creek Fire can be found at Wybtf Willow Creek Fire Incident Closures | InciWeb (wildfire.gov) . This is an area of National Forest land generally south of Smoot and west of Highway 89.
