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Elk Fire claims two homes as weekend winds spurred it to 73,000 acres

A crane holds up a sheet that's been spray painted with the message, "Thank you!" The crane is in the parking lot for Tongue River High School. A smokey sunset washes the scene in an eerie red glow.
Bighorn National Forest
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The Elk Fire claimed two homes as high winds from a cold front grew the fire to 73,000 acres over the weekend.

The Elk Fire was 10 percent contained as of Oct. 7. The U.S. Forest Service confirmed it was lightning caused.

The two primary residences were in the Horseshoe Subdivision west of Dayton.

“Firefighters were in the area throughout the night and early morning [Saturday] providing structure protection to those homes; during increased erratic fire behavior as the cold front passed early this morning, they had to evacuate the immediate area surrounding these structures,” reads a press release posted to Facebook.

“While we regret the loss of property, the number one goal is always the safety of the public and the firefighters. The Sheridan County Sheriff’s office notified the land owners and they are currently coordinating with the incident management team liaisons.”

A map shows evacuation levels and designated closed areas around the Elk Fire as of Oct. 7, 2024.
Sheridan County Sheriff's Office
This map shows areas under varying levels of evacuation orders and closures as of Oct. 7, 2024.

The sheriff’s office expanded and later downgraded evacuation levels in several areas. Evacuation maps are updated regularly and posted to the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office Facebook.

Crews are shoring up protections on homes and other buildings on the northwestern side of the fire in Little Horn Canyon, subdivisions along U.S. Highway 14 between Dayton and Burgess Junction, and south of the fire.

Dayton Mayor Clifford Reed said the Big Goose Water Treatment facility, which is the central water source for the Sheridan area, was also threatened but ultimately okay.

“We have to be careful with that plant. The fire came down within a few hundred yards. Other than the human life that is around the community, that was my big concern, was that water plant,” Reed said.

The Sheridan County’s Sheriff’s Office asks people to stay out of evacuated and closed areas to keep out of the way of firefighters. Early Saturday a resident was injured in an area that had been evacuated.

“Response to this did impact suppression efforts,” the sheriff’s office posted. “[Designated closed areas] are dangerous and public traffic impedes the first responders ability to work the fire. As well, if a citizen is in the fire zone, fire personnel and other emergency management personnel will not be dispatched for rescues.”

Game and Fish also advises hunters that two Access Yes areas – namely, PK Lane Hunter Management Area and Sheridan County Walk in Areas #8 and #12 – are closed until further notice. The fire is also affecting access to Elk Hunt Areas 37 and 38 and Deer Hunt Areas 24 and 25.

Warm and dry conditions are expected to continue. Smoke from fires further to the west may cause smoke shading and keep temperatures lower than the forecasted highs ranging in the mid 60s to low 70s.

Air quality around Sheridan and Gillette was rated unhealthy for sensitive groups Monday, and many parts of the state had moderate air quality. People with lung disease such as asthma, children and older adults, and people who are active outdoors should reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion.

Fire managers will hold a community meeting on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. at Big Horn High School. The meeting will be recorded and posted to the Bighorn National Forest Facebook page.

Nicky has reported and edited for public radio stations in Montana and produced episodes for NPR's The Indicator podcast and Apple News In Conversation. Her award-winning series, SubSurface, dug into the economic, environmental and social impacts of a potential invasion of freshwater mussels in Montana's waterbodies. She traded New Hampshire's relatively short but rugged White Mountains for the Rockies over a decade ago. The skiing here is much better.

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