Two fires on Bridger National Forest south of Jackson ripped through record-dry forest and grasses Wednesday and Thursday, forcing the evacuation of homes and campgrounds near Fremont and Green River lakes and reportedly cutting power to hundreds.

At Fremont Lake, just outside Pinedale, the Pole Fire erupted quickly midday Thursday and roared through sagebrush and into trees, closing Sky Line Drive, threatening Lakeside Lodge and private homes, and trapping evacuated campers on a boat dock. Bridger-Teton National Forest spokeswoman Mary Cernicek said Thursday evening evacuated campers were safe, even though their retreat route had been temporarily cut off.

The Pole Fire drew gawkers, who complicated the evacuation of the two Fremont Lake campgrounds Cernicek, said.

“It’s going ape,” she said of the rapidly growing fire, which had burned at least 100 acres by Thursday evening. “It’s really bad.”

The campgrounds were estimated to be half-full, and Cernicek said campers had gathered at a boat dock, where they were safe. Fire halted their evacuation when it jumped a road and trapped them by the lake shore.

Pinedaleonline.com reported power out to more than 1,000 homes in Pinedale and Boulder. The Pole Fire broke out on private land and spread to national forest land by the evening, Cernicek said. Its cause was not immediately available Thursday.

It was the second scary blaze to erupt in Sublette County in two days. Approximately 30 miles north of Pinedale, the Salt Lick Fire near Moose-Gypsum Road sprang to life Wednesday, possibly from an abandoned campfire.

It exploded to 2,000 acres in seven hours, causing officials to evacuate a Bible camp and warn 30 homeowners. The Sublette County sheriff’s department evacuated children from the Red Cliff Bible Camp on Wednesday and warned residents in 30 homes near the intersection of Highway 352 and Forest Road 680, called the Red Hills area, that they may have to evacuate soon.

Fire officials also have closed Moose-Gypsum Road 680 and Jim Creek Forest Service roads 710 and 711.

Backcountry travelers reportedly saw ash from the fire falling from the sky up to eight miles away as the blaze burned through spruce, subalpine fir and heavy lodgepole pine. Beetle infestations have caused significant damage to timber in the area, partially explaining the fire’s rapid growth.

Cernicek said fire officials suspect the blaze is human-caused.

“There’s a campfire ring there [near the origin of the fire] and it was hot,” she said. “But the fire started getting too close, so they [fire officials] couldn’t finish the investigation.”

On Thursday, the fire grew slowly as some rain and humid weather moved into the region. Cernicek estimated the fire to be as large as 2,500 acres Thursday evening.

“The weather has not been against us today,” she said Thursday. “But with thunderstorms come shifting winds. We’re not sure what that entails for the firefighters.”

Twenty personnel and seven engines were working to contain the blaze Thursday. Bridger-Teton expects an incident management team to assume control of the fire shortly. It has the capability to coordinate up to 500 personnel.

Fire danger in Bridger-Teton National Forest is now considered extreme, and firefighting resources in western Wyoming, Idaho and Utah are spread thin, with several blazes across the region. Fuels specialists say trees and deadfall are at record lows for moisture, drier than they were during the infamous 1988 season when fires in Yellowstone National Park made national headlines for months.

After several months of little precipitation and hot temperatures, Cernicek said, the region is primed for fast-growing blazes.

“It has to do with the fuels that are available on the ground,” she said. “Our fuels have dried out.”

Combine those dry fuels with wind and low relative humidity, and a forest fire can get out of hand quickly, she said.

Bridger-Teton officials are asking homeowners near the forest to make sure their homes are prepared for fires. That  includes clearing tree limbs up to 10 feet high, moving brush and wood away from houses, and making sure driveways are wide enough for fire engines.