An unidentified volunteer firefighter rescues a horse from a corral that had caught fire near Horse Creek Road north of Cheyenne on Friday. The widespread impact of the blaze can be seen in the background.
A Laramie County Fire Authority Truck passes the road closure and drives north on Horse Creek Road to assist in efforts to control the grass fire on Friday.
An unidentified volunteer firefighter rescues a horse from a corral that had caught fire near Horse Creek Road north of Cheyenne on Friday. The widespread impact of the blaze can be seen in the background.
A Laramie County Fire Authority Truck passes the road closure and drives north on Horse Creek Road to assist in efforts to control the grass fire on Friday.
CHEYENNE — Authorities continue to investigate the origins of Friday’s fire, dubbed the “Dusty Fire” by officials after a nearby road in western Laramie County.
Laramie County Fire Authority deputy chief Manny Muzquiz told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the origins of the fire, and he expected them to release more information on the blaze in the near future.
Muzquiz confirmed that the fire burned around 6,800 acres and damaged roughly 60 properties.
“(The damage varied) from, you know, just yard ... grass damage, fence damage, tree damage,” he said. “One house had the garage destroyed. I think another house had a deck destroyed that went right up against the house.”
No homes were destroyed, though, he said.
“That turned out a lot better than it could have,” Muzquiz said.
The high winds that exacerbated both the Dusty Fire and the fire south of Interstate 80 six days earlier presented challenges to first responders, he said.
“(We did) as best we could with the wind conditions, you know,” Muzquiz said. “Those are just difficult because, if the wind’s blowing 30, 40 miles an hour, that means the fire’s traveling at least that, if not a little more. You can’t really take these big trucks through the field at that speed, especially in zero visibility, where there’s ravines and different terrain that we have to maneuver through.
“Obviously, we hate to see anything get bigger than we anticipate, but it does happen, and we’re glad we had a mutual aid agreements in place and got a lot of help from our surrounding neighbors.”
Muzquiz also provided some recommendations for people to protect their properties from fire damage, and prevent a deliberate fire on their property from getting out of control.
“I think that our biggest recommendation, again, is not burning on days that are dry and windy,” he said. “(If) you have stuff to burn, wait for the snow, wait for moisture ... that’s a general, good idea to prevent wildfires from starting. Also, I think the biggest thing around here is just having that defensible space around your property, making sure your lawn is nicely mowed for the winter and the summer months, and making sure that you don’t have tall grass up around your house or bushes. Just kind of really creating a defensible space around your home to give it the best chance, if a wildfire does come through.”
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Samir Knox is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s criminal justice and public safety reporter. He can be reached by email at sknox@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3152. Follow him on Twitter at @bySamirKnox.
