Fire on the Snowy Range

[tmk50]

They basically shut the whole forest down until further notice.

http://www.co.albany.wy.us/Data/Sites/1/media/medicine-bow-forest-closure.pdf

I get it, there is a uncontrolled fire on one side of the forest, but this closure goes all the way to the county line. IMO it is scary that they can do this to "protect" us. Just imagine if the Forest Service thinks the avalanche danger is too high one weekend this coming winter - could they do the same thing to us and shut down the whole mountain?

 

[Steelman]

They basically shut the whole forest down until further notice.

http://www.co.albany.wy.us/Data/Sites/1/media/medicine-bow-forest-closure.pdf

I get it, there is a uncontrolled fire on one side of the forest, but this closure goes all the way to the county line. IMO it is scary that they can do this to "protect" us. Just imagine if the Forest Service thinks the avalanche danger is too high one weekend this coming winter - could they do the same thing to us and shut down the whole mountain?

That is scary. We always have to remember, that we are the guest and our welcome can be changed at anytime.

 

[rockdog2112]

It seems a little extreme to me.

 

[Steelman]

This message has been deleted by tmk50. Reason: not going to go there

LMAO. Thats why I said what I said.

 

[dansyl159]

Tony, are your folks still up here?

We've had some ash falling here at the house, it was very smoky in the valley last night until the wind switched to the west. Pretty clear here now, I can look down the valley and see the plumes coming off the Lake Owen area.

With all the fires in the west, the FS is understandably edgy. (I bet they'd like to shut down the whole mtn)

 

[tmk50]

Tony, are your folks still up here?

We've had some ash falling here at the house, it was very smoky in the valley last night until the wind switched to the west. Pretty clear here now, I can look down the valley and see the plumes coming off the Lake Owen area.

With all the fires in the west, the FS is understandably edgy. (I bet they'd like to shut down the whole mtn)

Yes - they are at the cabin ready to evacuate if needed, the smoke has not been too bad for them so far.

Edit - we drove up and got here about an hour ago. Here at the cabin we got 0.4" of rain today, we slid down the driveway which was fun

The strongest smell of smoke was actually down in Laramie, there was no smoke smell in Albany or here at the cabin. It is starting to spit some sprinkles again now, hopefully it will rain some more tonight.

 

[dansyl159]

Cool, rained here last night also. Hopefully things are looking up.

 

[Steelman]

Glad to hear it has rained. Hope everyone is safe!!

 

[tmk50]

Another .5" of rain this afternoon and evening, everything is pretty much soaked around here (west of Rob Roy).

Fire is 75% contained last we heard.

 

[Wyorever]

The smoke was basically gone yesterday, i'd bet they'll have no issues having full containment by tonight.

 

[Himark]

I know its bad but when spending years up there and seeing the mass beetle kill you just cant help but think its just a matter of when and not if. It is going to happen again IMO and wont be far off. Just look at mtn and how scarred it is with beetle kill in some area's.....its just a time bomb.

 

[Wyorever]

I know its bad but when spending years up there and seeing the mass beetle kill you just cant help but think its just a matter of when and not if. It is going to happen again IMO and wont be far off. Just look at mtn and how scarred it is with beetle kill in some area's.....its just a time bomb.

If the fs wants to save the forest there either needs to be a giant fire or a mass logging operation to clear all the beetle kill and make room for new growth. Getting the clowns in Washington to understand this will not be an easy task. Moreso the economy needs to rebound so loggers can make money logging. I also don't understand why they still charge people for fire wood permits, they should be giving those things away to whomever wants them.

 

[excav8ter]

If the fs wants to save the forest there either needs to be a giant fire or a mass logging operation to clear all the beetle kill and make room for new growth. Getting the clowns in Washington to understand this will not be an easy task. Moreso the economy needs to rebound so loggers can make money logging. I also don't understand why they still charge people for fire wood permits, they should be giving those things away to whomever wants them.

As an outsider who loves that area...... I could never understand why they didn't allow logging of the beetle infected trees. There was a lot of dollar value there. Now.....not so much. I guess I blame the leaf licking, wacko tree huggers for that.

I hope no one got hurt.

 

[tmk50]

I also don't understand why they still charge people for fire wood permits, they should be giving those things away to whomever wants them.

If anyone wants a bunch of free firewood let me know and either myself or my dad can meet you up on his property and you can cut and haul out all you want. We had some huge trees blow down this winter/spring - everything is pretty easy to get to.

He will sign a note saying that the wood is from his property in case anyone from the FS asks questions on the way off the mountain.

 

[Wyorever]

If anyone wants a bunch of free firewood let me know and either myself or my dad can meet you up on his property and you can cut and haul out all you want. We had some huge trees blow down this winter/spring - everything is pretty easy to get to.

He will sign a note saying that the wood is from his property in case anyone from the FS asks questions on the way off the mountain.

Good to know, I've already got a line on some downed, limbed, and already cut up into 6 ft. section stuff, but it's down at Red Feather Lakes. Might just be easier/cheaper to get stuff off of the range.

 

[tmk50]

Good to know, I've already got a line on some downed, limbed, and already cut up into 6 ft. section stuff, but it's down at Red Feather Lakes. Might just be easier/cheaper to get stuff off of the range.

We've got some downed and limbed stuff right along the driveway that was taken down when they built the cabin and cleared the driveway - all you would have to do is cut it into the lengths you want and haul it out. I have a friend from Cheyenne that has been hauling loads out from that pile for about 5 years now and it never seems to end...

Let me know - if it doesn't work this year, you can head up there in a year or two if/when your other sources run out.

tk

 

[Wyorever]

We've got some downed and limbed stuff right along the driveway that was taken down when they built the cabin and cleared the driveway - all you would have to do is cut it into the lengths you want and haul it out. I have a friend from Cheyenne that has been hauling loads out from that pile for about 5 years now and it never seems to end...

Let me know - if it doesn't work this year, you can head up there in a year or two if/when your other sources run out.

tk

Sorry man my phone sucks to use this site on and I unintentionally do that all the time, my bad.

 

[Wyorever]

some pics from fox creek road.

 

[tmk50]

Thanks for the pics - we were up there again last weekend and caught a whiff of smoke when we were fishing on Rob Roy Friday afternoon - probably still smoldering in a few spots and the wind blew back just right to us I figure.

I saw on the InciWeb that they said it was human caused and the investigation was ongoing - any word on charges?

 

[Wyorever]

Don't know if they caught anyone but word is some guys were out target shooting and started it somehow. Don't know if they were using tracer ammo or smoking or if their truck started it though. There's some other rumors going around but this seems to be the most logical one I've heard.