Fires In Northeast Wyoming Brings Evacuations & Heavy Smoke

Interstate 90 between Gillette and Buffalo, Wyoming is closed as of Thursday morning due to smoke and fire.

Northeast Wyoming woke up to the heavy smell of local smoke Thursday morning.

The moon had turned yellow overnight. People's eyes and sinuses could feel that burning sensation.

Those fires smell close, and they are.

There were multiple evacuation notices and roadways closed due to those burning wildfires in and around Buffalo and Campbell County.

There have been evacuations and closures in the Weston Hills Recreation Area in northern Campbell County. This is due to the rapid movement of the fire.

Just as the smoke began to clear from fires as far away as Canada and California, a new round of Wyoming fires had sparked up.

Each of the little dots on the map below were lighting strikes on Wednesday.

Wednesday afternoon the sky was filled with small thunderstorms. That would bring a lot of lighting but very little rain to put out what that lighting started.

The map, below, shows the smoke and fire situation. The dark color of the map below shows the smoke. Those little yellow dots are fires. The big red flame is the biggest fire. The outlined red area is a volume of area that is burning.

Those yellow dots show how the fire hops from one spot to the next as it burns.

That's not the only area.

Around 7 p.m., the fire was estimated to be about 5,000 acres.

There are more hotspots to the east of Buffalo and many around Gillette.

Towns like Kaycee, midwest, and Edgerton are feeling the worst that smoke.

A few small fires south and east of Casper, Wyoming erupted around the same time

What little wind there is has been pushing that smoke down from the north.

But there hasn't been much air movement so it's a slow-moving, heavy smoke, that is lingering in the area.

Relief is coming for some, but not all.

The wind will pick up and change direction later on Thursday.

That will push the fire and smoke back up north, where it came from.

If the wind pushes those fires back into areas that have already been burned it would be good news for firefighters.

That's good news for folks in Casper, Douglas, Kaycee, and Midwest.

Buffalo, Sheridan, and Gillette are going to hate this. They have been suffering in the thick of this as it is.

Afternoon thunderstorms will persist for the next few days.

This weekend winds will pick up and move that smoke toward the east.

Heavy winds are not good news for firefighters as they will help the fire move along the prairie.

IN WESTERN WYOMING:

The increasing threat of the Fish Creek Fire west of Dubois, caused a Level 2 Evacuation Notice is now in effect for the following areas:

US Highway 26 (Togwotee Pass) in the area of Mile Post 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35. This also includes the following roads, houses, dwellings, campgrounds, and trailheads.