State calls for disaster declaration

Facing “unprecedented wildfire losses”, Wyoming has requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) declare a statewide disaster designation.

“The total number of fires so far in Wyoming this year is 632, and they have burned 629,682 acres across Wyoming,” wrote Governor Mark Gordon in a letter to Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

“…A disproportionate amount of the area burned so far has occurred on private lands, with almost all of those lands being used for some type of agricultural production.”

The total damage of this year’s fire season is, of course, not yet known. Howe...