(Fort Washakie, WY) – Fremont County Fire Protection District Chief Ron Wempen has provided details on the reported grass fire that took place in the Old Wind River Highway area in Fort Washakie yesterday, March 27.
Chief Wempen reported that there were no injuries or structures affected by the fire, which grew to about 5.9 acres.
“There was no damage to any existing or occupied structures, but there was some debris that was burned up,” Chief Wempen shared.
The official cause was determined to be garbage burning that got out of hand.
“That’s pretty typical for us right now in the Spring before things get green, we’ve got all this dry, dead grass, (and) we’re at a point right now where there’s very high fire danger,” Chief Wempen commented. “Be it a controlled burn that gets away or something as simple as a spark that comes out of garbage, there’s just a high fire risk right now.”
The fire was contained and “pretty well mopped up” last night just a few hours after initial reports, Chief Wempen added, but BIA Forestry will remain on the scene today to monitor for any hot spots or residual embers.
Responding agencies included Batallion 12 in Fort Washakie, Batallion 3 out of Lander Rural, Batallion 5 from Morton-Kinnear, Batallion 1 Central out of Riverton, and BIA Forestry, who have now taken over management of the fire.