The Hardluck Fire in the Shoshone National Forest has been creeping north, toward a few abandoned frontier cabins near Needle Creek.
Forest Spokeswoman Kristie Salzmann says because other wildfires in the West threaten human life and properties, they take precedent.
“There’s only so many people and so many resources that can be utilized within the country to fight fires. And this one, since it doesn’t have the properties at risk, and because it is in such rugged terrain, we are just staying in the monitoring of it right now.”
Some Wyomingites are upset that the fire is growing toward the Needle Creek cabins and say they should be protected, but Salzmann says the cabins failed to meet the criteria for protection as a historic place.
Historic sites in other states have been properly preserved and also had fire protection measures installed. Salzmann says the Needle Creek cabins have been run-down and unstable for a long time, and are inhabited by wild “critters”.
“To be able to actively protect them would be putting firefighter in harm’s way, because of the fact that those buildings could collapse or shift or something could come out at them.
She says she hopes the fire spares the cabins, but it would be unsafe and not cost-effective to send firefighters to do the job.