• One year anniversary of fire’s first day is Saturday
This Saturday, August 22, marks the one-year anniversary since the start of the Willow Creek Fire, located in the Salt Pass area south of Smoot. What started as a small, single column of smoke quickly grew into a blaze that burned over 4,000 acres, closed Highway 89 and resulted in a handful of residents being evacuated from nearby homes.
The fire was first reported shortly after 11:00 a.m. when the Afton Volunteer Fire Department was called out for smoke rising from the mountains. However, the call was canceled due to the location of the flames which were deemed inaccessible to AFD. The U.S. Forest Service was then called in, which resulted in the use of a helicopter which was, at the time, roughly 10-15 acres in size. By the end of the day, the fire had grown to 250 acres with flames visible from the highway.
The following day, August 23, a Type 3 management team was called in to take over firefighting operations. By Saturday afternoon the fire had ballooned to an estimated 1,700 acres. What had started as a small string of black smoke in the distance, was now a huge plume of smoke rising into the sky. Later that evening the fire pushed towards the top of Salt Pass, resulting in the closure of Highway 89, with estimated reports growing to 3,820 acres in size. Saturday night the Willow Creek Fire forced the evacuations of residents living south of Smoot, with the “Get Ready” for others in the area. Fire fighters continued to battle the blaze with multiple air attacks and hot shot crews, using Highway 89 at the top of Salt Pass as a fire break. Firefighters were able to keep the fire from jumping the highway, and it was reopened at roughly 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning.
The fire remained at 0% containment on Sunday, pushing to nearly 4,000 acres in size. In what many considered to be an answer to prayer, a storm developed and rolled through the area on Sunday afternoon, dumping rain and hail directly onto the fire. This storm helped slow the growth of the fire, and by Monday officials estimated 12% containment with 4,063 acres burned. Cooler temperatures and increased containment methods help keep the fire at bay and very little additional growth occurred. In the coming days all evacuation orders were lifted and 23% containment reached by the following weekend. The fire was reported to be 96% contained on September 10 and held to 4,066 acres.
While the size of the fire remained modest in size compared to the blazes that have burned more than 100,000 acres in other areas of the state and rocky mountains, its close proximity and high visibility served as a reminder of how quickly a small spark can lead to something much bigger. It is believed that the fire had started a few days earlier from a lightning strike during a dry thunderstorm, with a small fire smoldering until it grew to visibility on August 22, 2025. Detailed coverage of the fire, along with multiple side stories, can be found in the August 27, 2025 edition of the Star Valley Independent as well as online at SVInews.com.
