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Rains snuff Gunbarrel
By Carole Cloudwalker
This document was published online on Friday, September 05, 2008
Labor Day was great for Shoshone Forest Supervisor Becky Aus because it rained on her forest fire.
“Yesterday was my favorite Labor Day,” Aus told the Park County commissioners Tuesday.
“We were grateful to have rain and snow.”
Aus and the outgoing Great Basin National Incident Management Team, the fourth to take charge of the 67,000-acre Gunbarrel Fire since it began with a North Fork lightning strike July 26, met with the commissioners to update them on the fire.
After some major runs in recent weeks the fire slowed substantially during the holiday weekend as up to one inch of precipitation fell in the area.
There was no perimeter growth of the fire Monday due to cooler temperatures and significant precipitation on the entire burn area, which is primarily in the North Absaroka Wilderness Area of the Shoshone Forest.
Firefighters are predicting containment of the entire perimeter by Oct. 15; it was considered about 80 percent contained Wednesday, with one major hot spot remaining on the west end.
Continued cool temperatures and high humidity prompted Incident Commander Paul Broyles' national team members to start packing up their gear Monday in preparation for handing management of the fire back to the Shoshone and a smaller Type III team.
Equipment including several pumps has come up missing, Broyles said, as his crews gathered miles of hose and much of the equipment they had scattered around lodges and along US 14-16-20.
Just three firefighters - from among the approximately 570 who worked on the fire at one time - sustained injuries.
“That's two knees and a shoulder,” Aus said following the meeting.
The most severe injury occurred one evening when a branch from a burned tree struck a firefighter on the shoulder, Aus said. He is expected to recover fully, as will the two firefighters who sustained knee injuries, she said.
Those in charge of the fire managed to retain objectives including keeping firefighters and the public safe and keeping the blaze from jumping the North Fork Highway and burning on the south side of the road, though that was not always easy to accomplish as high winds whipped flames, Broyles added.
Likewise, fire managers were able to keep the fire away from Dead Indian and Sunlight/Crandall areas as well as Rattlesnake Mountain, all possible places it could have moved in winds of up to 110 mph that took place at higher altitudes during the hottest, windiest days.
The teams also managed to infuse about $2 million into the local economy by purchasing or hiring materials such as ice, sanitation services, catering, car rentals, construction crews and the services of trucking companies.
“Pumping money back into the community here is part of our management objective,” Broyles told the commission.
Commission chairman Tim French asked if, with Wyoming's typical fall weather, the fire will remain calm despite expected snow and rain.
Broyles said no, which is why fire management is downsized but will still keep a presence to monitor the area with two engine crews and one helicopter.
The crew will again be based at Wapiti Ranger Station. For a time firefighters were headquartered at Buffalo Bill State Park.
“The helicopter will do reconnaissance,” Broyles said. “The snow we have won't put (the Gunbarrel Fire) out.”
Fielding a question from the audience, Shoshone District Ranger Terry Root said the nature of the Gunbarrel Fire made burnouts difficult at times, forcing the firefighters to back away as the main fire failed to come close enough to several lodges, namely Elephant Head and Goff Creek.
“The problem with a burnout is if the fire is too far off, you can get a head fire and put the lodge more at risk,” Root said.
“It was unfortunate the fire hung up as long as it did” around several lodges, forcing them to evacuate more than once, he added.
“We had to wait for the fire to come down,” Root said. “It was a matter of wait and have patience.”
Broyles said that is not uncommon in firefighting.
“What would happen if we had a backfire and the wind came up?” the incident commander asked.
Aus added that despite these problems, “on the north side they're relatively safe from future events.”
She thanked the county and the local community for supporting the firefighting effort.
“It was five weeks of stress, five weeks of tension and five weeks of smoke,” Aus said. She added that the Forest Service and the community understand one another better at this point because of working cooperatively on the blaze.
“We've ended with better relationships than when we went in, and the product on the ground is going to be really good in the next few years for fuels treatment (planned fires),” Aus said.
She said the region spends $250-$300 per acre on fuels reduction, while this fire cost about $153 per acre, despite its $10.5 million price tag as of Tuesday.
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old grouch wrote on Sep 4, 2008 4:11 PM: