The Badger Creek Fire in southern Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest was downgraded to a Type 3 incident Thursday. That means the fire is less intense and requires less personnel. The fire, which started on June 10 caused the evacuation of several mountain communities.
All evacuations have been suspended but access to the community of Gramm is still restricted due to continued public safety concerns. Highway 230 and Highway 10 are now open.
Badger Creek Fire Information Officer Jackie Parks said the fire is at 20,357 acres and is 94 percent contained. She said it’s a perimeter-controlled fire and that crews have been working hard to make sure that the fire didn’t spread further out. She added that several days of rain have also helped.
“But there is still fire activity in the interior of the fire. There are pockets of unburned fuel, grasses and trees that didn’t burn initially. And that’s why we still have the area closure in place because there is fire activity.” Parks added, “The public can expect to see fire in the afternoon when things start to heat up.”
Parks said that smoke will likely continue to occur for weeks. The cause of the fire is still unknown. If you have information please call the anonymous tip line at 307-745-2392.