The Bighorn National Forest said on Wednesday morning that conditions remain unsafe for fire crews to try to construct a direct fire line adjacent to the Crater Ridge Fire burning about 12 miles north of Medicine Mountain.
The remoteness of the fire, steep terrain in the area and “continuous fuels” make direct work unsafe so fire crews are instead using an indirect strategy to respond to the fire, which remains 0% contained.
The indirect strategy means that fire crews need more room to work and the forest closure area in effect is therefore “considerably larger than the fire itself,” according to the Bighorn National Forest. The fire, which was initially discovered on Saturday, July 17, has burned an estimated 383 acres. “Please respect the area closure, allowing firefighters to work without concern for the safety of public visitors in the path of the fire, and reducing traffic hazards to fire crews,” the Wednesday morning update states.