Less than 25 acres burn.
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Cooler temperatures, light rain – and a
lot of helpers – kept the Shoal Creek Fire within its original
25-acre perimeter at the south end of Hoback Canyon.
The fire started Sunday, Aug. 30, around 1:45 p.m. when
strong gusts of wind blew a tree onto a power line, knocked it
down and started sparking in light vegetation. The power was
out from Cliff Creek Inn through the Hoback Basin and into
the Upper Green River Basin; power returned at 10:45 p.m.
after a new pole was installed, according to Lower Valley’s
Brian Tanabe.
Strong changing winds, high temperatures and very dry
conditions have led to numerous “red flag warnings” issued
by the National Weather Service before and during the Cliff
Creek Fire.
Passersby on Highway 191 had crossed the Hoback River
and worked to extinguish the flames around the power pole –
part of the 2016 Cliff Creek Fire scar – and Forest Service and
Sublette County fire crews arrived quickly.
Wind sent some embers upward into a rocky gully where
pines, sagebrush and grass burned, also in the old fire scar,
according to Mary Cernicek for the Bridger-Teton National
Forest.
The fire is located about 2 miles north of Bondurant, across
the Hoback River from Cliff Creek Road in the Big Piney
Ranger District.
“There are currently no closures in place related to the
fire,” Cernicek said. “Since the fire has not grown in two days
and the area has received ample precipitation, this will be the
final update on the Shoal Creek Fire unless conditions change
significantly.”
Through the week, hand crews, hotshots, a helitack crew,
helicopter and county and BTNF engines and firefighters
tended to the Shoal Creek Fire, with night temperatures
plunging to freezing. Wednesday’s rainfall helped bring their
efforts to conclusion, Cernicek said.
Thursday, she said, the cause is still “under investigation”
although Lower Valley confirmed a tree had dropped its power
line last Sunday.
Most fire restrictions remain in place at this time.
Restrictions
The Bridger-Teton National Forest has implemented
Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. These restrictions allow fires only
in developed campgrounds and picnic areas in approved
structures along with the Teton and Gros Ventre wildernesses.
Please note that fires are prohibited in the Bridger Wilderness
and all dispersed campsites under this order.
Visit Teton Interagency Fire at www.tetonfires.com to learn
about fire safety and what fire regulations may be in place. To
report a fire or smoke in the area, call 911, Sublette County
dispatch at 307-367-4378 or Teton Interagency Dispatch
Center at 307-739-3630.