DAYTON, Wyo. — Sunday officially marks one month since the Elk Fire started burning through the Bighorn National Forest.
Now, Highway 14 has reopened and all evacuation orders have been lifted.
Many Wyoming residents have safely returned home.
Although it’s certainly not the biggest wildfire in Wyoming history, it made a significant impact on residents in Sheridan County. Through the past month, many were on edge, frightened, or stressed.
“(I’m) not scared, on edge, just trying to be vigilant about everything,” said John Frederick.
Frederick is a Wyoming resident outside of Dayton. The flames from the Elk Fire were less than a mile away from his front door.
“We could just see a little column of smoke up North… By that next Friday we had houses burning down… When the air support came in, this was the best front row seat. We could watch them all day, dropping buckets with water, helicopters, and the planes,” he said.
Frederick and his family witnessed the fire grow from a small line of smoke to what is now about 150 square miles of burned acreage.
Frederick moved to Wyoming from North Dakota about 14 years ago. He says that although North Dakota has its own wildfires, this was the biggest he’s ever seen.
“The wind was blowing directly at us at 23 miles an hour, and (my neighbor) called us and said it had jumped the river… It had been coming directly at us,” he said.
The Frederick family and their neighbors decided not to evacuate. Frederick says he was quite lucky, as the fire never crossed into his property.
The fire is 73% contained, but is still actively burning.
“So, as it starts to dry out from our last weather event, you can still continue to see smoke coming up from the interior of the fire,” said Jarrod MacNeil, a Public Information officer for Wyoming’s Fire Incident Management Team.
MacNeil wants the public to know that smoke will still be visible from Sheridan County as firefighters continue to distinguish the flames. However, residents should not see flames.
Because the fire is still burning and has yet to be completely contained, Frederick and his family are still slightly on edge.
“I don’t know, it’s still dry I guess is the problem. But, I’m still a little concerned about grass fires starting up. Wyoming had some pretty bad grass fires this year,” he said.
MacNeil says he does not expect the fire to completely burn out when the next snow comes (likely Tuesday). However, he does expect the cold front to slow things down.
“So, a lot of (the pine needles) are going to continue to smolder as the weather dries out,” he said.
On Monday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m., The Bighorn National Forest is holding a community meeting at Sheridan Junior High School to discuss next steps moving forward.
