Date: July 28, 2006
Contact: Nash, (307) 344-2010
Contact: Vallie, (307) 344-2012
Thursday was another quiet day on the Magpie Fire in Yellowstone National Park.
Despite mostly sunny skies, lower humidity and gusty afternoon winds, fuels remained moist from Wednesday’s rainfall. The fire lookout at Mount Sheridan was able to see some smoke from the southwest corner of the fire late Thursday.
The fire hasn’t increased in size since Sunday. In remains estimated at 805 acres. The fire was spotted burning in mature lodgepole pine 7 miles northeast of Madison Junction by fire lookouts on the evening of July 17.
The fire weather forecast for Yellowstone National Park calls for sunny, warmer, drier weather today. Partly cloudy skies with a chance of showers or thunderstorms are expected starting Saturday afternoon. The fire danger in the park is high.
All visitor services, park entrances and roads are open. Some hiking trails near the fire remain closed, and a temporary flight restriction continues over the fire. There are no fire restrictions in effect.
The Magpie Fire is the fifth fire in Yellowstone National Park this year. It is being managed as a Wildland Fire Use for Resource Benefits, since it supports the park’s goal of allowing natural fires to play their role in the ecosystem when they do not threaten any park visitors or property. It is being monitored by firefighters on the ground, from the park’s three fire lookout towers, and by aerial reconnaissance.
The only other active fire in the park is located northeast of Tower Junction. The Bison Peak Fire continues to smolder after blackening an area smaller than the typical backyard. Three other fires were declared out after burning less than one-tenth of an acre each.
When actively burning, the Magpie Fire can produce smoke visible from or along nearby roads and developed areas. Virtual visitors can also monitor the fire in real-time by going online and looking at the Mount Washburn Fire Lookout Web Cam at http://www.nps.gov/yell/tours/livecams/mtwashburn.
Updated information is posted to the Wildland Fire section of the park web site at
http://www.nps.gov/yell/technical/fire and the InciWeb Incident Information System web site at http://inciweb.org.
