Date: August 15, 2006
Contact: Nash, (307) 344-2010
Contact: Vallie, (307) 344-2012
Mapping completed after a late Monday afternoon reconnaissance flight confirmed that the Magpie Fire grew significantly over the weekend.
The fire is now 1,815 acres. It had been mapped at 1,368 acres late last week. The fire grew over the weekend because of good burning conditions caused by the passing of a cold front. Active burning was noticed in three distinct areas of the fire Monday afternoon, with the greatest concentration of fire activity observed in the southwest corner of the fire.
The forecast for the next several days calls for partly cloudy skies with chance of isolated showers and thunderstorms, with daytime highs around 70 and overnight lows near 40. The fire danger in the park remains high. There are no fire restrictions in effect.
There have been seven fires reported in Yellowstone this year. Four have been declared out; two very small fires continue to smolder.
The Magpie Fire is burning in the backcountry well away from roads and developed areas. It poses no threat to park visitors. All visitor services, park entrances and roads are open. When actively burning, the Magpie Fire can produce smoke which can cause a light haze over portions of the park or settle at times in low lying areas.
The Magpie Fire was spotted by fire lookouts on July 17. It is burning in an area which was burned in 1988. It is being monitored on the ground, from lookout towers and by over flights. The fire is being managed as a Wildland Fire Use for Resource Benefits, since it benefits the ecosystem and doesn’t pose a threat to people or property.
The Mount Washburn Fire Lookout Web Cam is temporarily out of service. Updated information on fire activity in Yellowstone National Park 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.
