2025 Wyoming wildfires

2025 Wyoming wildfires
Aerial view of the Vees Fire on July 27
Season
← 2024

There is an ongoing series of wildfires burning in the U.S. state of Wyoming.

Background

"Wildfire season" in Wyoming typically occurs between June and September, but wildfires can occur as early as April and late as December. Peak time of fire season is normally in July and August. Wildfires in Wyoming are triggered by a dry climate, drought, grasses die and dry out, and times when dry thunderstorms are more common.[1] Humidity levels, dryness of fuel, wind, and temperature also play a crucial role. Forests that have not had wildfires in recent years have more fire fuel, and trees killed by disease and insect infestation quickly dry up and become a prime fuel for wildfires.[2]

Summary

In mid-August, lightning sparked almost twenty wildfires in the Bighorn Basin,[3] including the Red Canyon, Spring Creek, and Sleeper Ranch fires. The Red Canyon Fire has prompted evacuations east of the Wind River Canyon, though no evacuations have been issued from the other fires.[4][5] Western Wyoming was under a red flag warning, due to very dry and windy conditions, but the fires are not spreading towards highways or towns.[6] While the fires are driven by the dry and windy conditions, they are fueled by the invasive weed, cheatgrass. The area east of Thermopolis on the side of U.S. Route 20 is covered in cheatgrass, which is fueling the Red Canyon Fire and is damaging the native plants.[7]

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), or produced significant structural damage or casualties.

Name County Acres Start date Containment date[a] Notes Ref
Horse Sublette 2,802 June 13 July 25 Lightning-caused. Burned in the Big Piney Range District. [9]
Taylor Draw Carbon 1,247 June 29 July 3 Unknown cause. Burned near Hanna. [10]
Vees Washakie 5,245 July 26 August 16 Lightning-caused. Burned on BLM lands. [11][12][13]
Spring Creek Washakie 3,594 August 13
24%
 Lightning-caused. Burning 30 miles (48 km) east of Worland. [14][15][3]
Red Canyon Hot Springs 107,886 August 13
28%
 Lightning-caused. Burning east of Wind River Canyon and prompting evacuations. [16][5][17][18]
Sleeper Ranch Park 18,046 August 14
60%
 Lightning-caused. Burning on BLM Worland lands. [19][20][3]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Containment means that fire crews have established and secured control lines around the fire's perimeter. These lines are barriers, like trenches or cleared vegetation, designed to stop the fire's spread. Containment reflects progress in managing the fire but does not necessarily mean the fire is under control or out.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Wildfire". www.tetoncountywy.gov. Teton County. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  2. ^ "Risk Factors Associated with Wildfires". www.tetoncountywy.gov. Teton County. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Graham, Andrew (August 14, 2025). "'Fire season is here' as multiple wildfires ignite across Wyoming's Bighorn Basin". WyoFile. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  4. ^ "BLM Wyoming alerts public to three active wildfires in Worland area". www.blm.gov. August 15, 2025. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Tropea, Vince (August 14, 2025). "Portions of Hot Springs County ordered to evacuate due to Red Canyon Fire". KOVE. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  6. ^ Ouellett, Nicky (August 14, 2025). "Storms ignite several large fires across northern Wyoming". Wyoming Public Media. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  7. ^ Johnson, Greg (August 16, 2025). "3 Wildfires Have Burned More Than 61,000 Acres In Bighorn Basin, 0% Containment". Cowboy State Daily. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  8. ^ "What containment and other wildfire related terms mean". Los Angeles: KCAL-TV. September 12, 2024. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  9. ^ "Horse Fire Information". InciWeb. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  10. ^ "Taylor Draw Fire Information". InciWeb. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  11. ^ "VEES - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  12. ^ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  13. ^ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  14. ^ "SPRING CREEK - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  15. ^ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  16. ^ "RED CANYON - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  17. ^ Grochowski, Garrett (August 14, 2025). "3K-acre wildfire burning in southeast Hot Springs County". Oil City News. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  18. ^ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  19. ^ "SLEEPER RANCH - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  20. ^ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
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