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CODY, Wyo. — Three lodges were evacuated Tuesday as hot, dry and windy weather continued to fan a wildfire burning near Yellowstone National Park in northern Wyoming.
The Elephant Head, Goff Creek and the Crossed Sabres Ranch lodges were all evacuated, but no buildings were in immediate danger because they were all located on the backside of the fire.
"It's a backing fire, which means it's going against the predominant wind or against the slope, and it moves at a much slower rate than the head of the fire, which is being pushed by the wind," fire spokesman Ben Brack said Tuesday.
He said the number of guests and employees evacuated was not immediately available. Fire officials didn't know the exact distance between the fire and the evacuated lodges, Brack said.
The Gunbarrel Fire was burning about 40 miles west of Cody. It has burned just over 31,000 acres, or 48 square miles, in the Shoshone National Forest east of Yellowstone. Firefighters had been successful in keeping the fire to the north side of U.S. 14-16-20 that runs between Cody and Yellowstone's east entrance.
The most active part of the fire is burning in wilderness areas, away from the highway, lodges and cabins.
"It is in fact reaching some places where it's running into rocks and rocky areas on kind of the northeast corner up there," fire spokesman Steve Till said Tuesday.
"With the fewer fuels and stuff, it would be much easier to engage it up there as opposed to the heavy, thick timber where you can't really put firefighters into," Till said.
Firefighters have conducted burnouts along the highway to steal potential fuels if the fire moves in, Till said.
"There's a lot of black along the highway, which doesn't look so hot, but it's a good thing in terms of fire control," he said.
Sprinkler systems also have been erected at lodges to protect the buildings.
The fire burned an uninhabited U.S. Forest Service lodge called the Sweetwater Lodge on Sunday night, but otherwise no lodges or cabins have been lost since the fire started on July 26 from lightning.
In western Wyoming, the Bridger-Teton National Forest issued a temporary area closure Tuesday around the New Fork Lakes fire, which is burning in a remote area about 20 miles north of Pinedale.
The fire has burned about 11,585 acres, or about 18 square miles.
Another fire is burning in a remote area of Yellowstone northeast of Fishing Bridge — near the northern bank of Yellowstone Lake in the central section of the park. No park infrastructure was threatened.
The Elephant Head, Goff Creek and the Crossed Sabres Ranch lodges were all evacuated, but no buildings were in immediate danger because they were all located on the backside of the fire.
"It's a backing fire, which means it's going against the predominant wind or against the slope, and it moves at a much slower rate than the head of the fire, which is being pushed by the wind," fire spokesman Ben Brack said Tuesday.
He said the number of guests and employees evacuated was not immediately available. Fire officials didn't know the exact distance between the fire and the evacuated lodges, Brack said.
The Gunbarrel Fire was burning about 40 miles west of Cody. It has burned just over 31,000 acres, or 48 square miles, in the Shoshone National Forest east of Yellowstone. Firefighters had been successful in keeping the fire to the north side of U.S. 14-16-20 that runs between Cody and Yellowstone's east entrance.
The most active part of the fire is burning in wilderness areas, away from the highway, lodges and cabins.
"It is in fact reaching some places where it's running into rocks and rocky areas on kind of the northeast corner up there," fire spokesman Steve Till said Tuesday.
"With the fewer fuels and stuff, it would be much easier to engage it up there as opposed to the heavy, thick timber where you can't really put firefighters into," Till said.
Firefighters have conducted burnouts along the highway to steal potential fuels if the fire moves in, Till said.
"There's a lot of black along the highway, which doesn't look so hot, but it's a good thing in terms of fire control," he said.
Sprinkler systems also have been erected at lodges to protect the buildings.
The fire burned an uninhabited U.S. Forest Service lodge called the Sweetwater Lodge on Sunday night, but otherwise no lodges or cabins have been lost since the fire started on July 26 from lightning.
In western Wyoming, the Bridger-Teton National Forest issued a temporary area closure Tuesday around the New Fork Lakes fire, which is burning in a remote area about 20 miles north of Pinedale.
The fire has burned about 11,585 acres, or about 18 square miles.
Another fire is burning in a remote area of Yellowstone northeast of Fishing Bridge — near the northern bank of Yellowstone Lake in the central section of the park. No park infrastructure was threatened.
