Wildfire Info and Resources
The following sites contain up-to-date information and resources for land and homeowners.
How will I know if I need to evacuate?
Evacuation notices will come from the county Sheriff’s Office. Many counties, like Teton County and Albany County, use a three-level system: Ready (Level 1 - make a plan), Set (Level 2 - prepare to leave), and Go (Level 3 - evacuate now). Others issue two levels: a pre-evacuation notice to get ready, and a mandatory evacuation order to leave now.
Check with your county’s Emergency Management department to sign up for phone, text or email alerts about emergency messages and advisories in your area.
Having a plan before an emergency develops is key. CalFire recommends making a Wildfire Action Plan to think through escape routes, how to keep pets and livestock safe, and what to bring. A basic packing list should include the 6 Ps:
- People and Pets
- Papers, phone numbers and Important Documents
- Prescriptions, Vitamins, and Eyeglasses
- Pictures and Irreplaceable Memorabilia
- Personal Computers (information on hard drive & disks)
- Plastic (credit cards, ATM cards, & cash)
Home preparation, adaptation and funding
The Wyoming State Forestry Division offers a risk assessment tool to help homeowners understand the risk and threat of wildfires near their property, especially in areas where the forest meets neighborhoods (also referred to as the WUI or Wildland Urban Interface). Property owners can also request a site visit from a state forester or a county fuels mitigation coordinator to assess wildfire threats on their land and learn what to do to lower risk. More information is available on the Forestry Division’s Fuels mitigation page.
Homeowners can do a lot to protect their homes and property from fire. CalFire has a list of home hardening tips, ranging from cleaning out gutters to suggestions for building materials, that can increase your home’s chances of surviving a wildfire.
Wyoming State Forestry keeps track of grant funding and assistance programs for fuel mitigation work. Some county conservation districts, like Teton’s, also have grants available to help private landowners with wildfire risk reduction projects. Federal agencies, like the U.S. Forest Service, also have grant funding available for communities to create or update Community Wildfire Protection Plans or carry out the plan’s projects.
Many communities in Wyoming are thinking about how to prepare their entire neighborhood, town or county for fire. The Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network posts community wildfire protection plans, tools for reducing wildfire risk across landscapes, and resources about recovering from wildfires.
Local wildfire info
Information about quickly changing fires often comes from Facebook pages for county government, fire departments or emergency management. These pages usually offer on-the-ground updates throughout the day, including the fire’s activity and direction, notices to prepare to evacuate and services available to those who’ve left their homes.
Another useful resource is an app called Watch Duty. It’s free, though you can pay for special features, and pulls together information from dispatch centers, first responders and other official and media reports as part of an interactive map. It can also share notifications for fires within counties you choose. Watch Duty is a non-profit staffed by volunteers, including retired wildland firefighters, dispatchers, first responders and reporters.
State Map and Resources
The State Forestry Division’s fire management website also shares links to regional situation reports, where burning restrictions are in place, contact information to report a wildfire and other resources.
Regional Map
The Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center posts blurbs about new and emerging wildfires on an interactive map covering Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. It includes very basic early reports of new fires.
Nationwide Interactive Map
Large wildfires are managed by teams that include local, state and federal crews. The biggest fires show up on Inciweb, a nationwide interactive map. It offers daily updates and maps of impacted areas.
Where is the smoke coming from?
With fires comes smoke. Fire and Smoke Map shows where smoke might be blowing around and into the state.
Air Now and Air Quality Aware show near real-time readings from air quality monitors across the state that track smoke (also called PM 2.5) and ozone levels, and make basic recommendations about who should take precautions and how to protect your lungs.
Resources for recovery
Following 2024’s massive fire year, the state put together a Wildfire Recovery Guide, with lists of federal grants and funding programs available to private landowners impacted by fires.
The state Legislature also created the Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program in 2025 to offer relief to businesses impacted by a wildfire or other natural disaster. Rules for the program are still being drafted.
The state and University of Wyoming also researched financial and informational recovery resources for homeowners impacted by wildfires. Financial support is available for stock growers, agricultural producers and whole communities through state and federal programs. The site also has ideas for how to protect your home and land ahead of next season.
The Wyoming Department of Agriculture also compiles information about recovery and relief resources available to ag producers and ranchers.
Forest fires on purpose?
Fire managers often take advantage of wetter, colder days in spring and fall to intentionally burn small sections of the forest. These prescribed burns remove flammable material, like dead trees and slash left over from timber harvest projects, in a more controlled environment.
You may see smoke or not be able to access that area while crews do this work. Check with your local U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management district for closure notices.
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Marshall Together, a grassroots nonprofit created by survivors of the devastating Colorado wildfire, are sharing advice and raising funds to assist those affected by the fires in L.A. -
That decision by the Department of Labor was based on a review of evidence that concluded that “female firefighters, more likely than not, face heightened risks for breast, uterine and ovarian cancers… due to the toxic exposures they face in their work.” -
Wildland firefighters and their advocates pushed hard for permanent pay raises before Congress’ holiday recess. What firefighters got instead was yet another last-minute extension of temporary raises. -
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. -
Researchers pored over roughly four dozen papers that assessed exposure to various carcinogens on the fireline. They identified 31 carcinogens – including asbestos, volatile organic compounds like benzene and crystalline silica. -
County firefighters are taking stock and sharing lessons learned after this year’s massive wildfires. The state saw about 2,000 wildfires, with over 850,000 acres burned. -
The Wyoming Grants Management Office compiled a list of grant and low-interest loan programs for private landowners, small businesses, nonprofits and local governments to seek relief. -
The federal government is allocating more funding to help rural and tribal communities better respond to wildfires. Several of those communities in Mountain West states have already seen an improvement in their firefighting abilities. -
Study: Particle pollution from wildfires has ‘markedly stronger’ link to dementia than other sourcesResearchers were looking at PM 2.5 pollution, made up of particles with diameters at least 30 times smaller than human hair. They found that for every additional microgram from wildfires per cubic meter of air on average over rolling 3-year periods, patients faced an 18 percent increase in the odds of a dementia diagnosis. The figure for non-wildfire PM 2.5 was just 1 percent. -
Wyoming lawmakers tabled an interim bill that would have shaped the future of wildfires and electricity companies, and in turn your electric bill. The bill would have let utilities off the hook for some liabilities if they made a wildfire mitigation plan. The discussion was booted until next summer over concerns and confusion.
