Fueled by gusting winds and extremely low humidity, fires around the region erupted this weekend, causing some road closures and prompting firefighters to begin protecting structures in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Fire officials, however, said precipitation expected tonight should help management efforts. The fire danger is considered “high,” the third of five ratings from “low” to “extreme.” The relative humidity Sunday reached 6 percent.

On Gunsight Pass in the Gros Ventre Mountains, the new Gunsight Fire quickly grew to more than 1,500 acres this weekend. Officials think the blaze may be human-caused.

“It is difficult when you have one blow up like that,” said Traci Weaver, public information officer for Teton Interagency Fire. “That was the first priority, to make sure ... the hunt camps were safe. It’s spreading very rapidly, burning in beetle kill.”

In Yellowstone National Park, officials closed the Grand Loop Road between Fishing Bridge and West Thumb after the Arnica Fire grew to 250 acres Friday afternoon. By Monday afternoon, officials estimated the blaze at 9,300 acres and the road was still closed. Crews made preparations to defend the 351 buildings and 63 employee housing units in the Fishing Bridge, Bridge Bay and Lake areas.

Five helicopters, 15 engines and 230 people are working on the Arnica Fire.

“There’s a 1.5-mile stretch of roadway that the fire is right up against,”

park spokeswoman Stacy Vallie said. “There is a bunch of downed trees and snags. They can’t get in there for safety reasons to clear it.”

Vallie said none of the buildings are in immediate danger but crews have set up of sprinkler systems on a number of buildings.

In Grand Teton National Park, the Bearpaw Bay Fire grew to 2,844 acres by late Monday afternoon. Eighty-three workers are concentrating suppression efforts on the southeast flank of the blaze near Teton Park Road.

“Our intention is to just hold that line and keep it from moving further east into old-growth lodgepole pine forest,” park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said.

Skaggs said a fire team has set hose around and wrapped two sides of the Leigh Lake backcountry cabin.

One helicopter is dropping 700-gallon buckets of water from Jackson Lake on the blaze and crews have five fire engines at the site.

Skaggs said the fire is creating a pattern that biologists say is good for the park’s natural resources.

“It’s a mixture of green patches, some areas that have been lightly singed and some areas that are burned completely,” she said.
Skaggs said precipitation in the forecast should help firefighters. 

“This change in weather should make a big difference on how this fire is progressing,” Skaggs said. “It should lay it down and, perhaps, even put portions of it out.”