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News story - Aug. 16, 2000

Flagg Ranch evacated
200 flee from resort as lightning storms spark more than two dozen new fires Tuesday.

By Rachel Odell

Firefighters ordered more than 200 people to evacuate Flagg Ranch Tuesday night as a wildfire two miles away threatened to burn into the resort.

Firefighters evacuated 92 cabins, 100 campsites and RV spots, and 80 employees as the 90-acre Glade Fire flared up only hours after it was sparked by lightning. At 8:30 p.m., the fire was burning about two miles southwest of the resort and firefighters were struggling to keep it from advancing farther.

About 50 people were fighting the fire. Twenty-five firefighters were flown by helicopter to the fire's point of origin as another 24 remained at Flagg Ranch to lay hoses and prepare to protect the buildings.

Len Dems of Grand Teton National Park wasn't excited about sending his men and women into the battle in the dark but was willing to get the job done.

"We don't have much choice," Dems said amid a hazy backdrop and in the odor of burning forest. An attack against the fire had to be made Tuesday night.

"The problem is," he said, "it's dark."

The evening's coolness will help, Dems said. But dry fuels and a lack of humidity wouldn't bring the normal nighttime relief, he reckoned.

Smoke from the Glade Fire enveloped the Flagg Ranch parking lot, and flames burning the tops of trees and shooting about 10 feet into the air could be seen eight miles away. Dems said the fire will likely run to the northeast but may not involve the buildings at Flagg Ranch. Most of the buildings are separated from the forest by open fields or asphalt.

At about 8 p.m. the Glade Fire sent burning embers north across the Grassy Lake Road, causing a spot fire that threatened to grow into the timber toward the resort. Four firefighters and incident commander Mac MacFarland took a wildfire engine to extinguish the small blaze.

As they jumped into the truck, firefighter Andy Williams from Moran looked around at all the smoke, sighed and sat back to await orders.

"It's going to be a long night," he said.

Equally long appears to be the fire season which becomes more intense with each passing day, Dems said. More than two dozen fires ignited in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks and on the Bridger-Teton National Forest Tuesday as two lightning storms moved through the valley. Combined with existing fires, the blazes are stretching already thin resources as officials try to prioritize and fight those blazes that immediately threaten life or property.

In Grand Teton, the Wilcox fire ignited on the west bank of Jackson Lake near the mouth of Webb Canyon and sent plumes of white smoke into the air that were visible from the park highway at Moose. Flames from another fire set the patrol cabin at Moran Bay ablaze. The cabin is the first known structure to go up in flames during the conflagrations that have raged throughout the valley since the beginning of August.

South of Jackson, the Blind Fire in the Greys River drainage made a dramatic run Monday, sending a mammoth cloud of smoke thousands of feet skyward. The scene prompted numerous calls to the federal fire dispatch center in Moran, even though the blaze was more than 30 miles from Jackson.

Burning about 25 miles east of Thane since the weekend, it was attacked quickly, officials said. It grew suddenly to 600 acres Monday, forcing the evacuation of about 30 campers and the withdrawal of four smokejumpers. "The fire is extremely volatile," incident commander Wade Burlson said. "These conditions are too erratic to fight the fire."

By Tuesday the Blind Fire covered 3,000 acres.

The Enos Fire burning in the Teton Wilderness about 32 miles northeast of Jackson grew to about 2,500 acres. The fire torched and burned throughout the day and was spotting into the area where the Mink Fire burned in 1988, incident commander Tom Zimmerman said. The fire has moved into the 1987 blowdown area and is backing to the south, he said.

The Boulder Fire in Granite Creek continues to burn, moving to the north and northwest while crews try to control the east and south eastern flanks to keep the fire from jumping the Granite Creek Road. So far, firefighters have managed to keep the fire away from structures. On Monday they lifted a mandatory evacuation that was in place since Aug. 1. Since Monday the fire grew by about 500 acres to about 3,900 acres, Zimmerman said.

The Fontanelle Fire near Kemmerer grew from 1,500 acres to 4,000 acres Tuesday as erratic winds made firefighting impossible. Incident commander Mark Booth pulled the few firefighters he had from the area because it was so unsafe. "Safety is our number one concern and we are not going to risk the number of people we have with these erratic winds and extremely dry, heavy fuels," he said.

Officials from Bridger-Teton and Grand Teton have set up a fire information office at the old Forest Service visitors center next to the supervisor's office on north Cache Street. The public is welcome to stop by the center to learn more about the fires, or to call 739-5555 or 739-5412.

Eight new fires started in Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday and officials are fighting the Thumb Fire which is burning west of Grant Village near the Headwaters of Thumb Creek.

Park officials have closed trails in the Bechler, Gallatin, Snake River and Thorofare areas and visitors planning to hike or stay overnight should call (307) 344-2160 for specific closure information.

Fire crews are all working hard and are exhausted, Dems said Tuesday night. Despite their efforts, the fires continue to grow, priorities shift and they are constantly on the move.

"We are very busy, we have a lot of resource issues to consider and we need to get people to a safe area," Dems said. "We've had many big days. This [Glade] is just another fire. Today it is a priority. Tomorrow it may not be."

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