Western Wildfires – Latest Updates [VIDEOS]

It is simply amazing to me the grand display that Mother Nature is putting on in our state of Wyoming, and our neighboring states too!It seems almost Biblical in nature...is Armageddon here?  To put it simply...no!  But it certainly is the perfect storm for wildfires!  Let's see, what would we need for this level of wildfire activity to occur?

A very warm winter with much less snow than normal... check!

Massively large areas of beetle kill in our forests... check!

Little or no rainfall to speak of all through the spring into summer... check!

Very hot and dry conditions backed up with gusty strong winds everyday... check!

All those factors combined with lightning from storms that come through but don't give us but just a drop or two of rain, some careless people with fireworks or campfires not handled properly...even a random cigarette butt can start a fire almost instantly in these conditions!  Please be extra careful when handling anything that is flammable or could start a fire!  As Smokey the Bear says, "Only you can prevent forest fires".

I have compiled the latest list for our general area and put it here, any of these fires can be instantly referenced and updated at www.inciweb.org as well.  These were the statistics as of the time of posting, please keep in mind that there are wildfires currently in almost every state in the country!

Wyoming Wildfires

Fontenelle Fire - Bridger - Teton National Forest                                                                 Active   12,000

Russells Camp Fire - Medicine Bow National Forest & Thunder Basin Grassland       Active     5,465

Colorado Wildfires

Hewlett Fire - Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests / Pawnee National Grassland     Active   7,685

Sunrise Mine - Uncompahgre Field Office                                                                                Active   5,742

Springer - Pike and San Isabel National Forests                                                                       Active   1,145

Treasure - Pike and San Isabel National Forests                                                                       Active    320

Little Sand - San Juan National Forest                                                                                        Active   22,440

Weber -           San Juan National Forest                                                                                       Active     9,155

Waldo Canyon Fire – Pike and San Isabel National Forests                                                 Active    15,517

High Park Fire - Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests / Pawnee Grassland                   Active     87,284

Montana Wildfires

Antelope Lane - Beaverhead - Deerlodge National Forest                                                      Active         686

Bear Trap 2 - Beaverhead - Deerlodge National Forest                                                            Active         3,000

Corral Fire - Montana DNRC                                                                                                          Active        1,200