smoke

Crews are working to protect structures in the Wheeler Creek and Parsons Draw areas, faced with the possibility that the fire could move further east.

Firefighters, now numbering 514 in total, will not directly engage the fire in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness area, opting instead to patrol and assist Forest Service staff in keeping recreationists apprised of the area closure.

Troup torching and crowning kept up into the early hours of Tuesday, a period that typically sees less intense fire activity.

"It's just not safe to put these firefighters right up against that fire," Sanchez says, citing hazards posed by the high percentage of beetle kill where the fire continues to burn.

Fire staff worked with Jackson County and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to evacuate dispersed campers on Independence Mountain late Tuesday.

The agency says the condition of native vegetation for wildlife and livestock on Pole Mountain is in decline.

People from all around the Cowboy State have noticed a bit of a smoky haze today.

Keep that BBQ smoke on your property or I’ll write you up! I know outrage on the internet hardly ever happens, but it seems that this video out of Pinellas County,Florida set the blogosphere on fire with righteous indignation over a county environmental employee dealing with some dudes that were having a bbq in their back yard...