Wildfire — Upper Wind River Basin, Wyoming

2016-07-11 to 2016-07-31 · Upper Wind River Basin, Wyoming

Wider weather episode

The lightning-caused Lava Mountain Wildfire was discovered in the mountains south of US Highway 26 west of Dubois late in the day on Monday, July 11. The fire showed little growth until around July 21, when the fire grew from about 1,000 acres to approximately 2,000 acres and caused the first of several evacuations. By the morning of July 24, the fire had grown to nearly 4,000 acres in size. Hot dry conditions over the next few days forced more evacuations in the area around Union Pass subdivision and pushed the fire to over 12,000 acres. Aerial support and a crew of over 1,000 actively fought the fire and saved numerous homes during a particularly active day on July 26. The fired slowed significantly by the end of the month, but many residents were not allowed to return home until early August. Please see the August 2016 Storm Data publication for more information about the conclusion of this wildfire.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 654090. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.