Several Departments Respond to Camp Guernsey Fire
The Hartville Volunteer Fire Department, Guernsey Rural Fire Department, and Camp Guernsey Fire Department and Range Control all responded to three fires located in Camp Guernsey’s North Training Area on June 18, 2021.
A range control specialist first observed the fires, which started as a result of a training incident. With the amount of smoke observed, CGFD Engine 1 made the decision to page Hartville VFD for additional resources for the Camp Guernsey Fire Department.
Because of the difficult location of the third fire, crews determined the safest option was to back out, establish containment lines, and conduct burn operations.
The Joint Operations Center in Cheyenne sent a UH-60 Black Hawk from Cheyenne to assist the firefighters on the ground, dropping a total of 14 buckets of water.
With burnout operations complete, crews monitored the fire and were successful at holding the fire on the fire breaks, after which command drove the perimeter and assessed the fire was no longer a threat of leaving the containment lines.
Engine 1 cleared the scene around 3:30 a.m. the next morning. In total, 50 acres were burned.