Wyoming State Forestry Division

Wyoming has already seen 103 wildfires and 2,600 acres burned this year. That’s about double the number of fires by this time last year, but only 15% of the acreage burned.

In his proposed supplemental budget, Gordon is asking for $692 million, of which $130 million in one-time funding would go toward recovering lands and infrastructure damaged by this year’s burns. Another roughly $50 million is being requested to repay and expand firefighting accounts.

Wildfires have burned homes and killed cattle this summer. Just this week, several new starts sparked evacuation orders in Campbell and Albany counties, and crews still have their hands full with the Fish Creek Fire on Togwotee Pass. Wyoming Public Radio’s Nicky Ouellet recently caught up with Jerod DeLay. He’s the state’s fire management officer. They talked about how this year stacks up and what we can expect for the rest of the season.

A team that specializes in responding to complex emergencies took over control of firefighting operations on the Pleasant Valley Fire on Thursday.

FEMA has authorized funds to help with firefighting costs on the estimated 27,000-acre blaze.

Gov. Mark Gordon named Kelly Norris the new Wyoming State Forester last month, taking over from Bill Crapser. In addition to being the first female state forester, she’s planning for the future of the state’s forests amid changes in the environment and strengthening partnership with the federal and local governments.

Last month, a new Wyoming State Forester was selected by Governor Mark Gordon to fill the vacancy left by longtime state forester Bill Crapser. Wyoming Public Radio’s Hugh Cook spoke with Kelly Norris about the state of Wyoming’s forests, her plans for the agency to focus on, and being the first woman to fill the position.

Wyoming State Forestry Division officials say that they have vacancies they are seeking to fill in both firefighting and non-firefighting roles. Though they say they're fairly well positioned for this fire season thus far, this could change if fires and resources are stretched thin. Local and state agencies, as well as the federal government have regularly experienced firefighting personnel shortages, which comes as fires are burning larger areas and are more frequent.

As August comes to an end, conditions are ripe for potential fires.Many counties and federal agencies have issued fire restrictions throughout the state…