Smoke Could Continue in Northwest Wyoming Until First Snow

Smoke and ash coming from a wildfire burning in a wilderness area in northwest Wyoming could continue in the Big Horn Basin until snow begins falling again.

Fire officials are mostly letting the fire in the Washakie Wilderness burn on heavy downed and standing timber killed by beetles. It covered over 14 square miles Thursday, nearly a week after lightning sparked it.

The fire is spreading farther into the wilderness but crews are monitoring it and will do burn outs if necessary. They want to prevent the fire from moving to the south.

Fire officials told the Northern Wyoming Daily News that if the fire reaches some trigger points, they’ll make decisions about what to do next.