Yellowstone National Park - Owl Fire Fact Sheet for July 31 (U.S. National Park Service)

Date: August 1, 2007
Contact: Joe Mazzeo, 617-697-6721
Contact: Jan Ulrich, 406-646-0342
Contact: Catherine Hibbard, 406-646-0342

Summary

Today 12 handcrews were assigned to the fire line constructing direct handline for perimeter control in divisions B, C, D and G. Weather conditions limited fire growth and was conducive to line construction. Little fire activity is expected for the next 24 hours.

All visitor services, park entrances and roads are open. Some trails and backcountry campsites are temporarily closed.

Tony Wilder's Southern Area Type 2 Incident Management Team took over the Owl Fire Wednesday morning..

Basic Information

Incident Type	Wildland Fire
Cause	Lightning
Date of Origin	07/20/2007 at 1215 hrs.
Location	North of the MT/WY state line, near Specimen Ck, & about 3 mi E of US-191
Incident Commander	Tony Wilder

Current Situation

Total Personnel	410
Size	2,810 acres
Percent Contained	35%
Estimated Containment Date	09/20/2007 at hrs.
Fuels Involved	Lodgepole pine and spruce-fir forest
Fire Behavior	Increased burning in unburned pockets of fuels and continued smoldering and some open flame in concentrations of 100 and 1000 hour fuels
Significant Events	Spike camp preparation was completed and occupied by 72 firefighters at Specimen Creek,completed 2 additional miles of direct line.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Division E on the east side of the fire will be staffed for the first time with 2 crews conducting cold trailing and line construction where necessary. Cold trailing, direct handline construction and mop up, up to 300' in, will continue on all divisions as necessary
Projected Movement	Increased relative humidity, cooler temperatures and scattered afternoon showers will moderate fire behavior. Hotter, dryer and windy condititions with a chance of isolated thunderstorms will increase fire activity. The fire could move N & NE and could be expected to threaten the Sky Rim Trail
Growth Potential	High
Terrain Difficulty	High
Containment Target	If critical resources are filled, the choosen management strategy should succeed within 7 to 10 days.
Remarks	This report will be updated once a day unless fire activity increases.

Weather

Current Wind Conditions	Not available
Current Temperature	Not available
Current Humidity	Not available