Date: July 30, 2006
Contact: Nash, (307) 344-2010
Contact: Vallie, (307) 344-2012
Fire activity increased Saturday on the Magpie Fire due to high temperatures, low humidity and strong, gusty winds. However, the increased activity was primarily inside the fire perimeter in areas which were previously unburned. The fire is still estimated at 815 acres.
A cold front is forecast to move over Yellowstone National Park on Monday. Ahead of the front, gusty winds and isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms could increase fire activity.
The smoky haze present over much of the park today is due primarily to a new fire north of Yellowstone National Park. The Big Creek Fire is burning in Paradise Valley south of Emigrant and west of US Highway 89. Late Saturday the park dispatched a number of law enforcement, structural fire and wildland fire personnel and equipment to help with traffic control, evacuation of residents and with fire protection and suppression.
While fire danger inside Yellowstone National Park remains high, there are no fire restrictions in effect. All visitor services, park entrances and roads are open. Some hiking trails near the fire remain closed.
Fire managers believe the Magpie Fire has a great deal of potential to grow in size. They continue to monitor the fire on the ground, from the park’s three fire lookouts, and by aerial reconnaissance. The Magpie Fire is being managed as a Wildland Fire Use for Resource Benefits. 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.
The Magpie fire was spotted burning in mature lodgepole pine 7 miles northeast of Madison Junction by fire lookouts on the evening of July 17. It is surrounded by an area which was burned by the North Fork Fire of 1988.
The Bison Peak fire northeast of Tower Junction remains active and has grown slightly, but remains just one-tenth of an acre in size. There are no other fires burning in Yellowstone National Park.
When actively burning, the Magpie Fire can be seen on 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.
