SHERIDAN, Wyo. - Fire crews are fairly confident about the Elk Fire, with 82 percent containment on the more than 98,000 acres that has been burned.
The incident management team gave an update on the fire during a public meeting at Sheridan Junior High School.
A big step is moving from one type of management team to another that's more about rehabilitation.
The most recent precipitation has not completely put out the Elk Fire that started on Sept. 27.
“We don't say it's 100% contained until we know for sure it's 100% contained,” said Amanda Fry, public information officer for the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1. “So we will continue to look at what we've done and continue to patrol out there and look at what everything that has been done. Our work doesn't end until we feel 100 percent certain that it won't spread anymore.”
But the recent forecast shows snow starting late Monday night and early Tuesday morning all the way until Wednesday.
Now, the crew will change from a type one team to a type three team.
“The complexity is reduced to the point where we can kind of tear down what we have out there, the number of folks we have on the ground,” Fry said.
A lot of that work involves rehabilitation of the 160 miles of fire lines.
Close to 100 miles have been fixed.
Some at the meeting are wondering when some roads will reopen, so they can get to their cabins.
“We got to go up one day and winterize,” said George Williams. “But that wasn't enough because some of us didn't get totally winterized.”
Many roads have been reopened and others remain closed because of the need to move heavy equipment, according to the Sheridan County Sheriff's Office.
The fire and the rehabilitation have been challenging.
“Wildfires happen in the toughest terrain out there,” said Nick Ostrom, U.S. Forest Service forest and grassland prescribed fire specialist. “ So all the work is hard. It’s all tough.”
Two primary residences and one secondary residence were lost and most importantly, there have been no fatalities or major injuries.
And citizens say they appreciate the efforts of the 1,000 firefighters.
“Oh, they did a lot of work,” said John Becker. “I know some people are upset. “You'll always get people that don't agree with how things get done. You have to draw a line somewhere.”
“It feels great inside to know that our hard work is being recognized,” Ostrom said.
“As we move forward towards normal, it feels like we're definitely getting there,” Fry said.
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