Wyoming State Forester Kelly Norris provided an update on Wyoming’s wildfire season during the Joint Appropriations Committee meeting on Thursday. She reiterated that Wyoming is experiencing one of the “busiest and most complex wildfire seasons in recent years,” which she had originally reported earlier this month. Despite this, her overall report about wildfire response was generally positive.
So far this year, the state has responded to 908 wildfires that have burned more than 63,200 acres, with 75% to 80% of those burns being on state or private lands. Much of her report aligned with what she presented to the State Loan & Investment Board and State Board of Land Commissioners earlier this summer, though she pointed out that the “fire season is not even close to being over.”
Norris emphasized the importance of Wyoming-based crews and resources, but also pointed out the successful cooperation between local, state and federal agencies this season.
“We send resources where they are needed to protect lives, communities and resources. That level of coordination doesn’t happen by accident,” Norris said.
Norris was also pleased with the decreased suppression costs and acreage from this year compared to 2024. Overall, Wyoming has spent $28 million less on suppression efforts, with around 600,000 fewer acres burned than in 2024. In 2024, the state spent $37 million and saw 636,000 acres burned.
“The number comparison also demonstrates the value of aggressive initial attack and having resources available when and where we need them,” Norris said.
She attributed this positive change to recent Emergency Fire Suppression Account rule changes that focused on this aggressive initial attack approach.
“We are containing fires more quickly, shortening incident durations, reducing our reliance on more out-of-state expense resources, and ensuring that our firefighters have the personnel and aviation support necessary to safely suppress fires,” she said.
Norris shared updates on some of the new aviation resources that the state has been expanding, including the new helibase near Casper that will have its official ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 24.
“Our aviation resources have been exceptionally busy this season,” Norris said.
Wyoming’s helitac program and medium helicopter have responded to 65 fires in total and have delivered 300,000 gallons of water. Wyoming’s contracted single engine air tankers (SEAT) have responded to 41 fires, delivering more than 275,000 gallons of retardant, most of which was loaded at the Thunder Basin SEAT base in Gillette, which has “proven to be invaluable,” Norris said.
Norris and Dan Shannon, director of the Wyoming Department of Corrections, agreed that the Smokebusters inmate hand crew has been a success. They discussed the potential expansion of the program. The official bill draft for the program’s expansion was pushed back to the next committee meeting in October because of a lack of time.
