Forest Service ‘Strongly Recommends Evacuation’ of Red Hills area
Homeowners in Moose-Gypsum subdivision strongly advised to ‘prepare’ for evacuation
by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online!
July 11, 2007
Update 7:00 PM, Wednesday, July 11: Forest Service “strongly recommends” residents in Red Hills area evacuate and residents in Moose-Gypsum subdivision “prepare” for evacuation
The Bridger-Teton National Forest is “strongly recommending” residents who live in the Red Hills area of the Upper Green River area evacuate now due to danger presented by the Salt Lick Fire which started this afternoon. The Red Hills area includes Red Cliff Bible Camp and one home located approximately 3-1/2 to 4 miles back off Hwy 352 on the FS 680 Moose-Gypsum Road.
Residents of the Moose-Gypsum subdivision are “strongly advised to prepare” for the possibility of evacuation, depending on what the winds bring and direction the fire spreads. There are approximately 30 homes in the Moose-Gypsum area, however not all are lived in all year-round.
As of the time of this update (7:00 PM), the fire was moving east and had stopped on top of the ridge above the 680 road. Another update is expected later this evening on the fire location and size.
According to Pinedale Ranger District Assistant Public Information Officer Meredith Malek, the fire behavior this evening and tomorrow depends on what the winds do. “There are no winds right now, but erratic winds are expected tomorrow,” she said. “It grew so fast today. Our main concern is for firefighter safety and for the safety of those who have homes in the area,” she said. “We are putting all the resources we have on it.”
Currently there are two Forest Service engines, two county engines and one helicopter working the fire. Nationally, fire fighting resource are spread very thin due to large fires in other states.
The Forest Service cannot require residents evacuate, however they are “strongly recommending” these measures at this time. The Salt Lick fire quickly grew to an estimated 1000 acres by 5 PM this afternoon, after being initially reported just after noon today. No estimate of increase in size was given with this latest update at 7 PM.
The National Weather Service put out a Fire Weather Watch earlier this afternoon for tomorrow for thunderstorms, which can bring strong erratic winds associated with those storms.
|
