Wildfire — Cody Foothills, Wyoming

2021-11-15 to 2021-11-16 · Cody Foothills, Wyoming

Event narrative

Very strong wind downed a power line into a tree igniting a wildfire around 2215MST Monday, November 15, in the Line Creek area north of Clark. The starting point appeared to be in the 800 block of County Road 1AB. The wildfire rapidly spread through the Line Creek drainage, mainly the north side of the creek, as well as the area around Gunpowder Road as westerly wind gusting between 60 and 80 mph drove the flames eastward. The blaze, which eventually burned at least 300 acres, destroyed three homes, seven outbuildings, and a bridge. The fire was also responsible for the death of a 61-year-old woman who succumbed to smoke inhalation on Tuesday, November 16. Firefighters responded from across northern Park County and southern Montana to get the fire under control. Evacuations occurred for Louis L'Amour Lane and Crossfire Trail.

Wider weather episode

A combination of a cold front, a potent jet, and strong winds being mixed to the surface brought high winds to much of northern and central Wyoming. The highest wind speeds were near the foothills of the Absaroka Range, where wind gusts as high as 120 mph occurred to the west of Clark. These intense gusts downed a power line, which was responsible for igniting a wildfire in the Line Creek drainage north of Clark. The wildfire spread quickly and destroyed several structures and caused one death. Wind gusts to around 90 mph were reported in northern Johnson County downing power lines that sparked several small grass fires. Wind gusts over 58 mph were also reported in Fremont and Hot Springs counties.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 994212. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.