Crews Make Progress on Horse Creek Fire
Incident: Horse Creek Wildland Fire
Released: 6/29/2007
Big Piney, Wyo: Crews made progress on the Horse Creek Fire on Thursday with the arrival of a stabilizing southwest wind pattern. Burn out operations using hand ignition and helitorch operations reinforced existing fire lines on the northwest, north and east sides of the fire.
The Horse Creek Fire, located 27 miles west of Pinedale, is now estimated at 7,005 acres. The challenging southern edge of the fire, burning in heavy dead and down timber, is well established in Elk Creek. Numerous spot fires were extinguished on the west flank with the close support from crews and helicopters. The fire remained within planned control lines.
Fire managers plan to continue burn out operations Friday primarily on the southern flank. Securing of lines and mop up is planned on north, west and east flanks.
"Efforts towards containment progressed well today," said Incident Commander Merrill Saleen. "We expect a significant increase in containment following burn out and mop up operations tomorrow."
Hot temperatures and dry conditions continue to challenge firefighters. With a Haines index of 5 and 6 for the week, conditions are volatile. "It is unusual to have such high indexes in June," added Saleen.
The Haines index is an atmospheric index used to indicate the potential for wildfire growth by measuring the stability and dryness of the air over a fire. Dry air affects fire behavior by lowering fuel moisture, which results in more fuels available for the fire. A high Haines index is an indicator of the potential for large fire growth.
Currently there are 407 firefighters battling the blaze, including 12 crews, 4 helicopters, 14 engines and 2 water tenders.
There is one structure threatened by the fire and structure protection is in place. The Horse Creek Road is limited to all but authorized fire personnel. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. For more information, visit http://www.inciweb.org/.
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