The Star Valley Independent is a member of the Wyoming News Exchange.

These stories come courtesy of the WNE

Yellowstone fire risk set at ‘very high’

JACKSON (WNE) — The risk of wildfire in Yellowstone National Park has been boosted to “very high,” only one step below the highest rating, “extreme.”

Fire managers increased the hazard Thursday, moving the danger one notch above Teton Interagency Fire’s danger rating of “high.” Very high fire danger means blazes can spark easily and have potential to spread fast enough that suppression is difficult.

“Flame lengths will be long with high intensity, making control very difficult,” a National Park Service description says. “Both suppression and mop-up will require an extended and very thorough effort.”

Yellowstone has one wildfire of significance on the landscape, the approximately 500-acre Bacon Rind Fire, which is burning within eyeshot of Highway 191 along the park’s northwest corner and in the adjacent Lee Metcalf Wilderness.

Jackson Hole, like Yellowstone, has largely been spared from the conflagrations that have engulfed much of the American West this summer, though threatening blazes have burned as near as Dubois, Idaho.

There have been 11 fires so far this year in the Bridger-Teton National Forest and Grand Teton National Park, but all have been small and nonthreatening, according to Teton Interagency Fire. The latest, the lightning-caused Hams Fire, is burning on the Bridger-Teton’s Kemmerer Ranger District, and was last listed at 3 acres and “contained.”

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CPD officers will not be charged in man’s death

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The four Cheyenne law enforcement officers involved in the death of a Laramie man last year won’t face any criminal charges. 

Scott Addison died in Cheyenne on Dec. 7 following a traffic stop near the intersection of Dell Range Boulevard and Ridge Road.

According to investigative documents, Addison refused to comply with commands given by officers, and eventually stepped out of the truck with an AR-15 assault rifle in his hands. Four officers shot their weapons, and Addison was killed.  

In a letter sent Feb. 15 by Laramie County District Attorney Jeremiah Sandburg and provided to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle last week, Sandburg declined to prosecute the officers.

Sandburg wrote that the threat posed by Addison when he stepped out of the truck, pointed his gun at police and shot off a round “could only be stopped by the use of deadly force.”

Investigative documents provided through a public records request to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) shed light on the events leading up to Addison’s death. They include information about a contemplated suicide, Addison’s acquisition of firearms and summaries of interviews with the four officers who shot at him. 

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle first requested the documents in March, about three months after Addison’s death. 

It is standard procedure for DCI to investigate all officer-involved shootings. It cannot release documents related to the investigation until the case is closed. 

When he died, Addison was set to go to trial in Albany County on 20 counts of exploitation of a minor, two counts of attempted blackmail, and single counts of first-degree sexual assault and felonious restraint. 

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Man accused of beating 84-year-old stepfather

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 57-year-old man recently released from the Wyoming State Hospital has been charged with aggravated assault and battery after he allegedly beat his 84-year-old stepfather while he was lying in his bed.

A preliminary hearing for Gary Robert Baker had been scheduled for Aug. 13, but a motion to suspend the proceedings has been filed so that Baker can undergo a mental examination.

He remains in Campbell County jail with a $5,000 cash-only bond.

The stepfather told police he was lying in bed July 31 when Baker came into his room, got on top of him, held him down with one hand and beat him with the other, according to an affidavit of probable cause, which also noted that Baker would periodically switch hands.

The man said that Baker hit him at least 20 times with his fists, striking him all over his body, his face and stuck his finger in his left eye. Police noted that his left eye was completely swollen shut and bruised, he was bleeding from his eye and nose and had bruising on his face and torso. The man refused to be taken to the hospital, saying he was “tough.”

The man didn’t know why Baker stopped beating him, but when he did, he said he was going to call 911.

When police arrived, Baker told them: “He is the devil in there and I’m God, that’s what the problem is.” He also said the fight was about money.

He told police he hit the man “enough to make him bleed,” according to the affidavit.

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Sheridan murder trial set for Sept. 10

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Rescheduling a trial for a man charged with second-degree murder may cause more than just a hiccup in scheduling for the attorneys and judge involved in the case.

Sheridan County Attorney Matt Redle is retiring and would have to be appointed as special counsel if the trial were scheduled for a 2019 date.

Presiding Judge John Fenn also is unsure about his future and longevity in Sheridan County, as he was one of three nominated for the vacant Wyoming Supreme Court seat.

The case, currently scheduled for trial beginning Sept. 10, began when Sheridan Police Department officers arrested Christopher Labuy Jan. 10 after a resident at 1410 N. Main St. reported that Labuy shot a man in another apartment in the building.

Documents filed by the Sheridan County Attorney’s Office said when officers arrived, they took possession of a handgun belonging to Labuy, then entered the apartment of the alleged killing. Officers found Eric Kaylor, the victim, lying on the floor, dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

Labuy told officers he shot Kaylor after Kaylor put a gun to Labuy’s head while they were both in the apartment.

Labuy indicated he had been staying at Kaylor’s apartment for several days.

The two had been drinking together. Labuy had a presumptive 0.3 percent blood alcohol content at the time, 0.22 percent over the legal driving limit.

Court documents indicate Labuy said Kaylor began insulting him, calling him worthless. Labuy said Kaylor took out his handgun, waved it around and pointed it at Labuy, saying he would kill Labuy.

Kaylor put the muzzle of the handgun to Labuy’s head, then Labuy unzipped his jacket, reached inside of the jacket, pulled his handgun from a holster and shot Kaylor in the head.

Grand Teton reopens Hidden Falls

JACKSON (WNE) — The crack wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, which is to say Grand Teton National Park has reopened the Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point areas after a monthlong closure.

The exceedingly popular west shore Jenny Lake hiking destinations have been off limits since July 10 due to a potentially hazardous fissure in the rock wall that looms above the scenic 100-foot-tall cascade. While that crack, thought to have started last year, still might eventually give way, park rangers announced Friday that they wouldn’t be putting the public into an unacceptably high-risk situation by lifting the closure.

“Let’s just assume the rock is going to fall, where is it going to go?” Teton Park spokesman Andrew White said. “We determined it was unlikely that rock would reach the Hidden Falls viewing area. Part of that is due to the distance, and part of it is due to the terrain.”

Park rangers who have monitored the roughly 100-foot-long crack have not completed a written “risk assessment” that informed the decision to reopen.

The “Practice Rocks” climbing area, where the fissure is located, remains closed to the public. A buck-and-rail fence lines the west side of the Hidden Falls viewing area, delineating the closed area.

The traditional scenic viewpoint at Inspiration Point remains closed due to unrelated trail rehabilitation, but a nearby lookout called Lower Inspiration Point is once again accessible.

Once the closure lifted Friday morning, visitors were quick to take advantage of it. Around 2,000 people offload from the Jenny Lake Boating shuffles on a busy summer day, and the majority of them hike up to see the waterfalls and lookout.