2025 Wyoming wildfires

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2025 Wyoming wildfires
Vees Fire from air attack 7-27-25.jpg
Aerial view of the Vees Fire on July 27
Season
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There is an ongoing series of wildfires burning in the U.S. state of Wyoming.

Contents

Background

Wyoming Drought Monitor at its peak on January 7, 2025 2025 Wyoming Drought Monitor.png
Wyoming Drought Monitor at its peak on January 7, 2025

"Wildfire season" in Wyoming typically occurs between June and September, but wildfires can occur as early as April and late as December. Peak time of fire season is normally in July and August. Wildfires in Wyoming are triggered by a dry climate, drought, grasses die and dry out, and times when dry thunderstorms are more common. [1] Humidity levels, dryness of fuel, wind, and temperature also play a crucial role. Forests that have not had wildfires in recent years have more fire fuel, and trees killed by disease and insect infestation quickly dry up and become a prime fuel for wildfires. [2]

Summary

In mid-August, lightning sparked almost twenty wildfires in the Bighorn Basin, [3] including the Red Canyon, Spring Creek, and Sleeper Ranch fires. The Red Canyon Fire has prompted evacuations east of the Wind River Canyon, though no evacuations have been issued from the other fires. [4] [5] Western Wyoming was under a red flag warning, due to very dry and windy conditions, but the fires are not spreading towards highways or towns. [6] While the fires are driven by the dry and windy conditions, they are fueled by the invasive weed, cheatgrass. The area east of Thermopolis on the side of U.S. Route 20 is covered in cheatgrass, which is fueling the Red Canyon Fire and is damaging the native plants. [7]

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), or produced significant structural damage or casualties.

NameCountyAcresStart dateContainment date [a] NotesRef
Horse Sublette 2,802June 13July 25 Lightning-caused. Burned in the Big Piney Range District. [9]
Taylor Draw Carbon 1,247June 29July 3Unknown cause. Burned near Hanna. [10]
Vees Washakie 5,245July 26August 16Lightning-caused. Burned on BLM lands. [11] [12] [13]
Spring Creek Washakie 3,594August 13
95%
Lightning-caused. Burning 30 miles (48 km) east of Worland. [14] [15] [3]
Red Canyon Hot Springs 124,709August 13
80%
Lightning-caused. Burning east of Wind River Canyon and prompting evacuations. [16] [5] [17] [18]
Sleeper Ranch Park 20,657August 14
90%
Lightning-caused. Burning on BLM Worland lands. [19] [20] [3]
Dollar Lake Sublette 11,510August 21
0%
Lightning-caused. Burning 32 miles (51 km) north of Pinedale. [21]
Willow Creek Lincoln 4,356August 22
23%
Unknown cause. Burning 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Smoot and prompting evacuations. Closed U.S. Route 87. [22] [23]
2025 Wyoming wildfires
Perimeters of 2025 Wyoming wildfires (map data)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Containment means that fire crews have established and secured control lines around the fire's perimeter. These lines are barriers, like trenches or cleared vegetation, designed to stop the fire's spread. Containment reflects progress in managing the fire but does not necessarily mean the fire is under control or out. [8]

References

  1. ↑ "Wildfire". www.tetoncountywy.gov. Teton County. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Risk Factors Associated with Wildfires". www.tetoncountywy.gov. Teton County. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Graham, Andrew (August 14, 2025). "'Fire season is here' as multiple wildfires ignite across Wyoming's Bighorn Basin". WyoFile. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  4. ↑ "BLM Wyoming alerts public to three active wildfires in Worland area". www.blm.gov. August 15, 2025. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Tropea, Vince (August 14, 2025). "Portions of Hot Springs County ordered to evacuate due to Red Canyon Fire". KOVE . Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  6. ↑ Ouellett, Nicky (August 14, 2025). "Storms ignite several large fires across northern Wyoming". Wyoming Public Media . Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Greg (August 16, 2025). "3 Wildfires Have Burned More Than 61,000 Acres In Bighorn Basin, 0% Containment". Cowboy State Daily. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  8. ↑ "What containment and other wildfire related terms mean". Los Angeles: KCAL-TV. September 12, 2024. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  9. ↑ "Horse Fire Information". InciWeb . Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Taylor Draw Fire Information". InciWeb. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  11. ↑ "VEES - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  13. ↑ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  14. ↑ "SPRING CREEK - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  16. ↑ "RED CANYON - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  17. ↑ Grochowski, Garrett (August 14, 2025). "3K-acre wildfire burning in southeast Hot Springs County". Oil City News. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  19. ↑ "SLEEPER RANCH - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts". Watch Duty. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  21. ↑ "Dollar Lake - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  22. ↑ Stout, Monica (August 24, 2025). "Willow Creek Fire causes evacuations; Salt River Pass back open to traffic". Buckrail. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Willow Creek - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
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