The Willow Creek Fire south of Smoot remains at 96% contained as of the most recent update from officials with the Bridger-Teton National Forest for Thursday, September 11. It is the second day the fire has been described as 96% contained after jumping from 73% earlier in the week.
The 4,066 acre fire first started on August 22, and expanded to over 3,000 acres by the the weekend. More than 400 personnel have battled the blaze which experts anticipate to have fully contained by September 15.
UPDATE:
Containment remains at 96% as dry and windy conditions on Wednesday produced a few smokes from areas of heat well inside the fire line. An unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with an infrared heat sensor flew over the fire and picked up a few areas of relatively cool heat, all at safe distances from the perimeter. Repair of roads, trails, and fire lines used during suppression continues. A burned area emergency response (BAER) team arrived Wednesday to assist the local unit in preparing and implementing long-term restoration strategies.
WEATHER:
Scattered showers occurred overnight Wednesday and will persist into Thursday, with a chance for a second round after 1 pm. Thursday’s relative humidity will increase to the mid 30% range with high temperatures in the 60s. Friday brings only about a 20% chance of wetting rain, while Saturday’s chance rises to about 45%. Weekend temperatures dip into the 50s accompanied by higher minimum relative humidity.
EVACUATION/CLOSURE INFORMATION
No evacuations are in effect. To stay informed of 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.
