A wildfire in northwest Wyoming has temporarily changed the route of a popular through-hiking trail.
The Leeds Creek Fire was first reported Aug. 1 in the Bridger Teton National Forest, about 16 miles southwest of the town of Dubois. Since, it’s grown to more than 1,200 acres and is at about 13 percent containment.
Maps show it’s burning right through the Continental Divide Trail, or CDT. It’s a popular 3,000-mile hiking route that goes from Mexico to Canada, with 550 miles going cutting through Wyoming. Thousands hike parts of it annually. Hundreds finish the whole route.
Danny Knoll, the trail information manager with the CDT Coalition, said they’ve re-routed miles 1,858.3 to 1,878.4 because of the fire. But letting people know is tricky.
“There's various places where there's no cell reception or anything like that,” he said.
Knoll said they send out text and email alerts when they issue re-routes. Hikers usually are able to check their phones every few days. The current re-route is on the CDT Coalition website. It follows the trail closely, just shifted to the east.
Currently, this is the only re-route on the CDT due to wildfire. However, there were others earlier in the season, like the Indios Fire in New Mexico this spring.
But many wildfires are now burning through the region and threatening the trail. This is likely a sign of the times. Wildfire season is becoming more extreme and longer in the Rocky Mountain West, and because of that, Knoll said future impacts to the CDT are to be expected.
“If you're a thru hiker of the CDT, it's very likely that you will encounter a fire closure at some point during your hike,” he said.
The Bridger Teton Forest Service is predicting the Leeds Creek Fire will grow because of hot temperatures and gusty winds over the next few days. There are 109 personnel working the fire. An official area closure is in effect. For more updates on this fire click here.
