Portions of Yellowstone Lake Closed to Accommodate Planes Fighting June Fire

Portions of Yellowstone Lake will be closed to motorized and non-motorized watercraft indefinitely to accommodate water scooping planes fighting the June Fire.

The fire, burning in Shoshone National Forest, is 13 miles from the East Entrance. The fire is currently one-and-a-half miles from U.S. Highway 14/16/20 and threatens nearly 200 structures and residences. According to Inciweb, at their last count, June Fire is approximately 2,000 acres in size. A map of the fire is below, courtesy of Inciweb.

If the June Fire creeps further north, it’s reasonable to assume the highway, and therefore Yellowstone’s East Entrance, will be closed.

According to a Yellowstone press release, officials expect plane operations to go one for approximately one week. A map of the closure area is available here, courtesy of Yellowstone National Park. A photo of the planes in question (taken outside of Yellowstone) is at the top, also courtesy of the park.

We previously reported the firefighting team would make use of Yellowstone Lake; we also reported the fire is expected to burn through September—barring any season-ending weather event.

For more information on the June Fire, please call 307-296-7015.