Boomerang Staff Writer by Ryan Ragan
Boomerang Staff Writer by Ryan Ragan
just past the entrance to the
town of Fox Park quickly turned into a fleeting inferno because of
the lack of ground moisture and
drought-stricken foliage in the area.
As seen from the roadblock
in front of the Woods Landing bar, the thick, heavy plume of smoke
that billowed through the distant
trees resembled that of a volcanic eruption.
Once near the main
fire with the fire crews and Forest Service officials, the resilient black
smoke
and exhausted firefighters showed
that this fire would not go down without a fight.
Brad Klingman, the
Albany County Fire Warden, said that he received a report around 6 p.m.
that
the fire, dubbed the Gramm fire,
had consumed approximately 300 acres of Forest Service land.
As the incessant flames burned,
members of the Albany County Sheriff’s office, Big Laramie Valley
Volunteer Fire Department, Forest
Service and Laramie Fire Department scrambled around the
parking area trying to decide how
to contain the itinerant fire.
Clint Kyhl, district
ranger for the Forest Service Department, explained that people living
in or near
Fox Park have been warned of a
possible evacuation. Klingman said that the fire is threatening over
150 structures, including residences,
summer homes and businesses.
The parking area in front of the
Woods Landing bar swelled as more and more people who were
trying to get over the pass were
turned away by Tim Boumeester of the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
Some were just passing
through, and those like Fox Park resident Joan Schroader were worried
about their homes and personal
possessions. “I have two dogs,” a worried Schroader said as she
paced in front of the trooper wanting
to know when he would let her through.
Shortly after, the
trooper allowed Schroader and other Fox Park residents to pass through.
Unfortunately, Audra Thomas was
not able to convince the trooper to let her through to go help
her father clear a number of personal
belongings out of a cabin in the area. Boumeester explained
to her that only residents of Fox
Park were allowed to pass through. Kyhl said he speculates that the
fire is man-made and believes that
it started around the private property next to the Wolf Track area
near Tick’s parking.
Though the officials
are currently unsure as to how the fire was started, an investigation into
the
cause is under way. However,
the fire’s point of origin is not where the main fire is burning.
Because of strong
winds and burning treetops, the fire’s red-hot embers were carried across
the
road, which started six to eight
more small fires deeper in the forest opposite the point of origin.
To combat the heavy
flames, Kyhl explained that a tanker plane out of Colorado had been called
in to drop a special form of fire
retardant on burning sections.
“Retardant has a clay
compound that holds the water together when it’s dropped so it doesn’t
just
all mist out; it actually hits
the ground where the fire is,” Kyhl said. “It also has a color agent so
that
the air tanker can see where they
dropped from before.”
Though the main fire
appears to be burning deep in the forest, Kyhl said there is a road that
will
allow fire trucks to access the
fire.
“The (fire) engines
have foam agents in their water that makes them more effective on fires,”
Kyhl said.
Klingman said he expects the fire
to get worse before crews can get a hold on it.
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From: DLskygazer@aol.com
Message-ID: <162.234dfe88.2c46f76f@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 14:46:07
EDT
Subject: [FRAC] Gramm fire update
Saw an interview with a fire official
from Rocky Mtn Coord Center on
9 News at noon (Denver)...he said
the Gramm fire near Foxpark has
grown to 600 acres...Type 2 Incident
Management with over 100
personnel assigned.
A link from the National Interagency
Fire Center (NIFC) gives an
early morning report on all current
fires...scroll down to Rocky Mountain
Area Large Fires...
http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
DL HOME