Buffalo and Stallions Fires July 27, 9 a.m. update

Press Release: Incident: Lightning on July 24, started both the Buffalo and Stallions fires. The Buffalo Fire is in Powder River County, 31 miles southwest of Broadus, MT; it has spread into Wyoming. The Stallions Fire in the Bittercreek area of Campbell County, 45 miles north of Gillette, Wyoming. The fires are within 3 miles of each other with the Buffalo on the southern border of Montana and into Wyoming while Stallions is immediately south of the Montana Wyoming border.

Incident Command:  Alaska Interagency Incident Management Team, Tom Kurth, Incident Commander.

Current Size:  Buffalo Fire:  3,104 acres, Stallions Fire:  1,051 acres.

Containment:  Buffalo Fire:  80%, Stallions Fire:  90%

Structures Destroyed:  0, Structures Threatened: 15

Current Resources:  Crews:  9, Engines:  34, Helicopters:  2, Dozers:  5, Total Personnel:  407

Current Situation:  Favorable weather continues to moderate fire behavior on both fires. Cooler temperatures, higher relative humidity, and calmer winds have given firefighters a chance to work directly on the fire line to slow the progress of the fires. Over a dozen structures are still threatened but none have been lost. In the last 24 hours the Buffalo fire has gone from zero percent containment to 80 percent and the Stallions fire has gone from 50 to 90 percent.  Great progress has been made on both fires and the Stallions fire is transitioning to a Wyoming Type 3 Incident Management Team.  The Alaska Interagency Incident Management Team (AKIIMT) is still assigned to assist Montana and the Bureau of Land Management in suppression of the Buffalo fire.

Flight Restrictions:  A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the fires. Pilots looking for more information on the TFR go to: http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html. The objective is to provide a safe environment for firefighting aircraft operations. The public is reminded that it is illegal to operate drones within a TFR.

Fire Restrictions:  In southeastern Montana Stage 1 Fire Restrictions are in place due to dry, hot conditions, which could lead to wildfires caused by human activity. Stage 1 Fire Restrictions ban all campfires except for in developed recreation sites, fire rings or improved sites. They also prohibit smoking, except in enclosed vehicles or buildings, at developed recreation sites or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials. For more information:  https://firerestrictions.us/mt/

Due to the extreme fire danger Campbell County, Wyoming, is currently experiencing, the Campbell County Fire Department Chief requested the Commissioners adopt a resolution restricting open burning. The resolution took effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 7th and will remain in place until weather conditions have sufficiently changed to a reduced risk of wildland fires. The resolution puts in place a partial closure of outdoor fires in unimproved areas, defined as cropland, agricultural land and undeveloped land which predominately remains in its natural forested or range condition. For more information:  https://www.ccgov.net/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=554

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