Seven local fire departments responded to a large grass fire on Saturday near U.S. Hwy. 26 between Torrington and Lingle, virtually in the backyard of the Wyrulec building. A social media post by the Torrington Volunteer Fire Department placed the fire on the 3700 block of Road 39J.
The TVFD was the first department on the scene, but due to high winds the TVFD requested mutual aid from the Lingle and Veteran fire departments, and later departments from Ft. Laramie, Yoder, Lyman, Neb. and Morrill, Neb. were called into action.
According to TVFD Chief Lance Petsch, the winds caused the fire to grow rapidly.
“That was one of the big issues,” he said. “It was 26 m.p.h. sustained, with 30 m.p.h. gusts.
“It just pushes them. If you think of the wind blowing 30 m.p.h. pushing a fire, it can push the fire 15 m.p.h. Trying to catch up to it, because of how fast the wind is pushing it, makes it really difficult. One of the biggest problems is that you have eight- to 10-foot flame lengths because of the fuel."