80 percent containment.
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The Boulder
Lake Fire, formerly the Tannerite Fire,
burning between Boulder and Burnt lakes
is 80-percent contained as of Thursday
morning, said Nan Stinson, fire prevention
specialist for the Bridger-Teton National
Forest. The official acreage stands at 1,359
acres. The fire showed no growth, however,
and the slightly higher number reflected
more accurate mapping, Stinson explained.
“Firefighters had success with mop-up
efforts (Wednesday) and made significant
gains in containment over the last five
days,” Stinson said. “The mop-up efforts
are pivotal to the success of the operation.”
The Type III Incident Command Team
handed control back to the local Type IV
team on Thursday morning. Three National
Forest Type-6 engines are still on the
scene along with a helicopter from Teton
Interagency Fire, Stinson said. Around 25
personnel continue to focus on mopping up
hot spots.
“We will maintain a presence on the fire
until it is out,” said Stinson.
The Forest Service plans to reopen the
road from Burnt Lake to Meadow Lake
(Forest Road 766) on Friday, Stinson said.
The first reports of smoke came in to
Sublette County Unified Fire around 1 p.m.
on Saturday, Aug. 17, County Fire Warden
Shad Cooper told the Sublette County Board
of Commissioners on Tuesday.
Plumes of smoke developed rapidly near
the elk feedgrounds above Boulder Lake.
The wind, dry air, fuel and topography combined
to create optimal conditions for the fire
to race up the slopes.
“We threw tremendous resources into
the fire,” Cooper said to the commissioners.
“We had eight (SCUF) apparatus on the
scene within minutes.”
Flames leapt 20 feet into the air, creating
dangerous conditions for ground crews.
The rough terrain and wall of fire made it
“difficult to fight the flames with engines,”
Cooper added.
SCUF immediately reached out to inter-
agency partners including the BLM,
Bridger-Teton National Forest and the state.
Essential air support arrived quickly to contain
the flames, Cooper said.
“This was a very well coordinated effort
(between the agencies),” he said. “Everyone
came together and kept the fire from going
too big.”
The new unified command team developed
a plan of attack, using resources where
they were best suited, Cooper said. SCUF
the fire’s path.
“We had firefighters on the porches of
homes,” he told the commissioners. “They did
a tremendous job saving property.”
No residences were lost in the fire and the
elk feeding grounds were protected.
The interagency command threw in their
full arsenal – smoke jumpers, helicopters,
boats, single engine air tankers and brush engines,
said Stinson. With fewer fires across
the country so far this year, Stinson said that
resources are more readily available than in
past years.
Stinson explained that the lines of pink retardant
dropped by the single engine air tankers
really turned the tables in containing the fire.
The retardant does not always stop flames,
but it slows the progress of the fire significantly
and buys valuable time for the ground
crews to bulldoze or dig perimeter lines, Stinson
explained.
Mopping up
Mop-up efforts to eliminate hot spots will
continue until the fire is fully contained and
controlled.
“Crews are mopping up hot spots to make
sure embers don’t restart,” Stinson said on
Monday. “The public may not always realize
that even though there are no more flames or
plumes of smoke, there’s still a threat.”
Different fuels hold heat longer than others,
Stinson said. Grass, for example, burns right
through and grass fires burn out immediately.
Sagebrush and aspen, however, simmer with
heat for hours or days after the initial flames
burn through. These hot spots of “duff,” where
embers fester in the ground around the roots,
pose a threat to the fire line.
This is where the unsung heroes of wildland
firefighting come in. On Monday, mop-up
crews were focused on hotspots around the
perimeter. Several firemen climbed high up
the ridges, scanning the terrain for smoke that
marked a hot spot. Stinson said that firefighters
also rely on infrared flights over the fire
zone to detect hot spots.
Crews on the ground sprayed water from
engines or hand-held tanks, while the others
used tools to mix the water into the ground.
The mop-up crews work 16-hours shifts.
“They basically get back to camp, eat,
check their supplies and go right to sleep,”
she said.
On Monday, a crew with the BTNF and
another with SCUF were mopping up a stand
of aspens above the elk feedground. Eric
Chapman, “Zulu” division supervisor on the
ground, explained that the mop-up crews were
the “real heroes” on Monday.
“We had a lot of hot spots in the aspens
today,” he said. “Without (the firefighters’) efforts,
the fire might have jumped the line and
burned another 5 or 10 acres. These are good
crews – they’ve been working hard, running
from fire to fire.”
Stinson confirmed that the official cause
of the fire was people shooting at exploding
targets. She stressed that this activity is illegal
on National Forest and Bureau of Land Management
land.
The county does not have a specific ordinance
against the use of exploding targets
outside federal land, said Sgt. Travis Bingham.
However, in light of the Tannerite Fire,
the Sheriff’s Office “does not condone” this
activity.
crews were assigned to protect residences in