Lone Star Fire widens after hitting mature growth

The Lone Star Fire widens to 1,500 acres after favorable weather conditions pushes new activity toward a mature, unburned forest of spruce, fir, and lodgepole pine.

The good news is that this mature forest is southeast of where the fire began, three miles away from the developed Old Faithful area. The bad news is that the fire is once again impacting traffic on the Grand Loop Road: yesterday we saw road closures between Old Faithful and the West Thumb Junction as the Craig Pass is impacted. (If you see smoke in Yellowstone, don’t assume it’s coming from the Lone Star Fire; smoke from Idaho and California wildfires can now be seen in Yellowstone.) We may see similar road closures later today and tomorrow, depending on how the fire behaves.

Today has been a warm day in Yellowstone, but a cold front is moving in, and the forecast tomorrow calls for only a high of 59 degrees and a low of 19 degrees and a 70 percent chance of precipitation, per weather.com. That’s good news in terms of slowing or even halting the fire. The 10-day forecast, however, does not call for more rain.

According to a National Park Service press release, the Wyoming Type 3 team and Yellowstone resource management crews will continue fuels reduction work around key infrastructure in the Old Faithful area, including power lines, historic buildings, and communication equipment. They continue to protect the area in case the Lone Star Fire shifts suddenly or another wildfire threatens it in the future.

A map of closures can be seen below. Click here for a larger version.

Photo by Ernie Walker, Branch Director.

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