Lightning plagues county with nonstop fires

There’s been barely a pause so far in this year’s fire season. According to Fire Warden Doug Leis, some days have seen several incidents in quick succession – and it doesn’t look like the weather will be letting up any time soon.

“It’s these storms coming through. It’s so dry that every one of those storms start three or four fires,” Leis says.

Most of the fires have been in pastures and within the trees, he says. While the days without weather are better, thanks to the countywide drought conditions, every lightning storm has brought new danger.

“We have nothing or we have four or five,” Leis says. “Everybody needs to take extra care. We’ve had a little bit of rain, but that little bit of rain we got is not going to stop any of these fires.”

While the Independence Day holiday weekend did see a number of fires, the situation as a whole this season made it seem almost mild, according to the fire warden.

“I think we only had about seven or eight fires,” he says. “We had fires on Monday at Left Creek and one in Sundance and on Sunday there was one up in Miller Creek, and there must have been four or five on Saturday also.”

Speaking on Tuesday morning, Leis predicted that more reports of fire were likely to come in as the day heated up thanks to the lightning storms on Monday evening.

“The rains kind of snuff them out, but then as the day heats up, they show up,” he says.

Fortunately, though it does appear that fireworks were included in some local celebrations despite the burn ban, Leis is not aware of any fires that resulted. “Everything I know of has all been lightning strikes,” he confirms.

However, at least one citation has been issued for fireworks, according to the sheriff’s blotter.

One of the largest recent fires was the Hauber CA Fire south of Devils Tower, which was first called in on July 3 at 12:46 p.m., according to Great Plains Fire Information.

Though it was reported to have reached 50 acres in size, says Leis, appearances were deceiving in this particular case.

“Actually, it was only about 25 acres once we walked it. It looked really big because it was spread out, but it was really thin,” Leis says. “It was a big horseshoe shape.”

Like the many other fires local volunteers have been tackling this season, this one was caused by a lightning-struck tree.

“We went in there and dozed a line around it, cut some trees down and worked it,” Leis says. “We got enough water on it to get it shut down. It took us a couple of days, but we got it.”

The Sandy Draw Fire five miles north-northeast of Beulah was called in on June 23 and was recorded at 72 acres.

“We got it all pretty much on the first day, we had some helicopters and planes on that one,” Leis says.

At the same time, another five-acre fire near Hay Creek caused property damage for a local resident.

“It was right next to a house and it actually burned up two or three sheds,” he says.

Also on the same day, firefighters headed to a 65-acre blaze on the Robinson Ranch near Moorcroft.

Most fires are spotted and called in by members of the public.

Great Plains Fire Information reports numerous smaller fires in the area across the last week or so, including the 13-acre “No More CA Fire” at 13 acres, which was contained on the afternoon of June 26.

Several were less than an acre in size, including the East Creek Fire that was pronounced as out on June 27 and the Tower View Fire four miles southeast of Devils Tower, which was reported on July 2 an contained within an hour.

Also small, the Ivy Fire five miles south of Beulah was called in on the morning of July 3 and contained and controlled within two hours, while the Houston Fire three miles south of Warren Peak also took two hours to contain on the same afternoon.

“It’s mostly ranchers or people driving down the road – the good citizens of Crook County,” Leis says.

In fact, he adds, community support has been invaluable to the volunteer firefighters of this county throughout the season so far.

“It’s been wonderful this year, you go to a fire and you’ve got people from all over the county there,” he says.

Despite the rainfall, the drought conditions locally are still problematic. As of July 1, the U.S. Drought Monitor has placed almost the entire county at the “severe drought” level, with the southwestern quarter now in an even worse condition at “extreme drought.”

“It’s really super dry round there. You get from Kara Creek west and there’s a big change,” Leis says.

This upgrade has been made in response to increasing rainfall deficits, declining soil moisture and streamflow and vegetation stress. According to the accompanying drought summary, producers from Wyoming eastward across the Dakotas are now having to “make tough decisions as to what to do with cattle, with many selling entire herds.”

Leis continues to urge the public to follow the guidance in the burn ban, which prohibits fireworks and outdoor fires including trash, camp and charcoal fires in the unincorporated areas of the county. Certain activities are permitted with the proper precautions, such as the use of cutting torches and arc welders within a cleared area with a fire extinguisher and shovel present, but all others can only be authorized through a permit from the fire warden.

That’s not likely to happen in the current conditions, though.

“We will not be issuing any permits,” Leis states.

Donations for firefighters

In response to queries from members of the public as to whether Crook County’s volunteer firefighters are in need of support, Fire Warden Doug Leis confirms that monetary donations are always welcome. If you would like to provide practical help, supplies can be dropped off with Misty Nuzum, Fire Secretary, in the courthouse or with any of the auxiliaries or fire halls across the county and can include items such as:

• Hydration drinks such as Gatorade®

• Bottled water

• Granola bars, peanuts, cookies and other snacks that will not melt

• Energy bars