Tuesday Wyoming Fire Update Brings A Little Good News

First the good news.

The biggest of the Wyoming first is the House Draw fire, between Buffalo, Wyoming and Kaycee.

It's now 88% contained.

Some much-needed rain passed over the area, yesterday.

That gave firefighters a little help and any help is a good thing.

Near Gillette the Flatrock and Constitution fires also got some rain.

Both of those fires are now over half contained.

A small fire near the Montana border, just to the east of Sheridan, literally blew out of control to a fire bigger than the House Draw fire, and it did it overnight with the help of some stout winds.

That would be the Remmington Fire, which is now in Montana at 196,387 acres burned and only 5% contained.

Much-needed rain parked over that area on Monday, giving firefighters the help they needed.

The bad news is that the next few days will bring dry air, with little chance of rain.

There will be just enough wind to keep those fires, and the many other smaller ones in the area, moving across the Wyoming grasslands.

There won't be anything natural to slow down the fire's progress for a while.

The smoke, for the next week or so, will continue to blow in a north-easternly direction.

Wyoming has it easy compared to neighboring Idaho, which has many more fires burning in hard-to-reach areas.

Here in Wyoming, it's all hands on deck with local fire departments and any resident who has equipment that can be used joining in.

Fires in Western Wyoming, like the ones up in the Togwotee Pass area, got a healthy dose of snow on Monday, with the possibility of more on the way.

For those fighting to save what they can in North Eastern Wyoming's latest fires, and for those who are worried about friends and family in the area, information is everything.

Everyone wants and needs to know the latest.

Here are some of the places news reporters go to find out what is going on, and you can look at these sites as well, any time you need an update.

Let's start with a fire map.

The WSFT Interactive Fire Map is at this link. 

The more you zoom in, the more information you'll get.

Try clicking on everything you see and you'll get more information.

At the same time, you'll want to know where that smoke is going.

Try this smoke and fire map, at this link.

Like the other map, the more you move around and click on things the more information you get.

You'll see layers of smoke and where it's coming from.

This gives you a better idea of the big picture as you zoom in and out.

You'll want to know where that smoke and fire is going, and where it is forecasted to go.

For that one of my favorite websites is WINDY. You might want to download the Windy App for use on your mobile device.

It's a moving map that shows you how the wind is moving.

With WINDY you can zoom way in and way out to see how the wind is moving.

Use the time bar at the bottom to see what the forecasted winds are.

Use the altitude option to look at winds aloft and on the ground.

Try the options that allow you to see temperature, humidity, rain, and clouds.

Are the roads open?

Try WYDOT's website for visual and written information on roads.

You can also zoom in on street and highway cameras to see what's happening.

Search your social media, like Facebook to see what WYDOT is posting as well as your local BLM posts and fire departments.

They all have Facebook pages and are posting information there.

Your local government (city & county) websites are also posting emergency information along with city and county police departments.