PINEDALE—In the week since the Dollar Lake Fire was discovered near Green River Lakes on Aug. 21, the fast-moving wildland fire has consumed more than 13,450 acres of heavy timber 32 miles north of Pinedale.
The fire is burning in a dense mix of lodgepole pine, aspen and conifer forest, with dead and down trees that are receptive to isolated torching, according to officials. The dead and down 1,000-hour fuels produced active to extreme fire behavior, sustained crown runs and spotting with long-range spotting. Crews on scene have reported crown fires in the timber with “100-foot flame lengths” as the fire burns above the Green River Lake campground and into the Bridger Wilderness.
In addition to an engine from Sublette County Unified Fire, there are some 450 firefighters from around the United States battling the blaze across five divisions, according to August Isernhagen, the incident commander from the Sierra Front/Nevada Team 5. Isernhagen explained the overall strategy for the coming days.
“Big picture is we want to hold [the fire to] the river and road system on the north and east side. We want to establish control lines and get containment in the south, and we want to steer this thing into the rocks to the east, with our finite resources,” he said.
The Dollar Lake Fire remains the No. 1 priority in the Great Basin Geographic Area Coordination Center, Isernhagen said at a community fire meeting Tuesday in Pinedale. Five helicopters are assigned to the fire, along with planes equipped to scoop water from alpine lakes and other aircraft dropping retardant.
“There’s been retardant drops completely surrounding the Red Cliff Bible Camp and all along the cabins and homes in there,” Isernhagen said. “They’ve got a tremendous plan in place in order to reduce the intensity of the oncoming flame front as it gets closer and closer to the subdivision.”
Containment and operations
As of press time Wednesday, the fire was 8% contained. Its cause remains undetermined. The current estimation for containment is Oct. 15.
“Containment in and of itself means we have a control feature around the fire and crews have checked 3-5 times to be sure there is no ember source,” Isernhagen explained. “This means going in on hands and knees and feeling for hot spots with the back of an ungloved hand.”
Firefighters are conducting burning operations, plowing in dozer lines, and using other tactics to drive the flames into the rocky outcroppings and away from private property and grazing allotments.
“As you work around the entire perimeter of the fire, all of those critical values at risk have been addressed and mitigated. There’s been work done to limb up the trees, reduce the hazardous fuels that are close and put in the structure protection that’s necessary,” Isernhagen said. “We’ve done as much as we could with the time that we had to get the resources where they needed to be.”
Weather predictions
Incident meteorologist, Noah Myers, from the National Weather Service Office in Riverton, said Tuesday that firefighters would try to take advantage of cooler, wetter conditions over the next few days.
“Wednesday will be our wettest day,” Myers said. “Thursday will be similar. I’m forecasting three-quarters of an inch to an inch-and-a-quarter of rain, which could really temper fire behavior. Regardless of accumulations, I’m confident we will see elevated humidity both during the burning period in the afternoon and overnight, and that will help a lot.”
Also likely to help quell the fire is a notable lack of wind the next few days, Myers added. Smoke from the Dollar Lake Fire is traveling down the Green River drainage at night and into the Upper Green River Basin, impacting the air quality in and around the Kendall Valley, Cora, Daniel and Pinedale, Myers said.
A grateful community
Sublette County Unified Fire Chief Shad Cooper said local volunteer firefighters were the first to respond to the fire when it was discovered on the afternoon of Aug. 21, evacuating campers, outfitters and homeowners from the area and working 24 hours straight. The local crew was relieved when the Type 3 interagency fire team arrived the next day.
“We roam all over the country doing fires like this, and few, if any, communities have been as welcoming as your community. We appreciate that from the bottom of our hearts,” Isernhagen told the crowd of 100 people gathered Tuesday night at the Pinedale Library.
We roam all over the country doing fires like this, and few, if any, communities have been as welcoming as your community.
August Isernhagen, incident commander
The entrances to the facility were lined with handmade signs expressing gratitude to the first responders. Electronic marquee signs at local businesses throughout Sublette County were updated to share messages of appreciation for the firefighters and other personnel assigned to the Dollar Lake Fire. Culinary students at Pinedale High School baked hundreds of cookies for the fire crews on Tuesday, and local businesses donated hot meals and cold drinks to the hardworking folks on the fire line throughout the week.
Sublette County residents took to the newly created Facebook group “Dollar Lake Fire Help” — which had garnered more than 250 members as of press time — to provide resources and assistance to impacted homeowners and ranchers. From running errands for anyone trying to avoid the smoke to hauling trailers and assisting with evacuations, area residents have flooded the page with heartening offers to help. About 400 cattle were evacuated Tuesday from a grazing allotment near the fire.
The American Red Cross Disaster Action Team for Sublette County is prepared to open a shelter at Pinedale High School if needed, said Maureen Hutchinson.
WyoFile reported earlier this week that Todd Stevie, operator of Thompson Outfitters on the Bridger-Teton National Forest near Green River Lakes, received a call from Kim Cannon when the fire ignited. Cannon was many counties away, but three of his horses were corralled right near Green River Lakes.
The Dollar Lake Fire was racing toward Cannon’s horses. Pushed by winds, the blaze was galloping toward the corral and Stevie’s basecamp.
Stevie, his wife Bev and guide Dustin Lindley, drove miles along a dirt and gravel road toward the corral, reached the horses on Aug. 22 and rode them across the Green River at a ford. They loaded the mounts into a trailer, then drove like hell as roadside heat and flames spurred them on.
“It was a little sketchy and a little warm,” Stevie told WyoFile on Monday. Lindley drove a 1996 GMC one-ton pulling a gooseneck trailer and the horses. “I drove it like I stole it and hoped to hell there was no leak in the fuel pump,” Cannon said of Lindley’s account.
