Bear Creek Fire reaches full containment as Pearl Fire nears same
The fire near Sybille Canyon burned a total of 1,444 acres. South of the stateline, crews battling the Pearl Fire have achieved 90% containment.
A fire north of Laramie which has burned more than 1,400 acres is now 100% contained, officials announced Saturday.
The Bear Creek Fire started burning more than a week ago and inspired short-lived pre-evacuation notices for those living in the area.
Separately, south of Laramie, Albany County residents living near the stateline were under their own pre-evacuation notice — a precaution ordered in light of the Pearl Fire burning in Colorado, 10 miles south of the border.
All pre-evacuation notices in Albany County have been lifted.
Bear Creek Fire
The Bear Creek Fire erupted Thursday, Sept. 12, and officials immediately issued a pre-evacuation notice for the surrounding area in Sybille Canyon.
That get-ready-to-leave order stood through the weekend and was canceled the following Tuesday as fire crews achieved 80% containment and officials started releasing personnel.
At one point roughly 60 personnel representing various local and state agencies were on scene. With the fire now at 100% containment, all personnel have now been released, according to the most recent update from Albany County Emergency Management.
Wyoming is having a particularly intense fire season and more fires are expected throughout the fall.
Pearl Fire
The Pearl Fire has not touched Wyoming and remains about 10 miles south of the state’s southern border in Colorado.
It has stayed at about 130 acres throughout its short life and is now at 90% containment, officials announced Saturday.
Albany County Emergency Management issued a pre-evacuation notice for Albany County residents living north of the stateline up through Tie Siding on Monday, Sept. 16 — meaning, for a brief spell, county residents both north and south of Laramie found themselves under such a warning.
The pre-evacuation notice this side of the border was lifted Friday evening, and similar notices south of the border were lifted Saturday afternoon when the U.S. Forest Service gave the “all clear.”
“Smoke and flames will remain visible from the interior of the fire, within established control lines,” states the Forest Service’s Saturday update. “Crews have worked diligently on containment lines to ensure there is no heat near the perimeter. Firefighters continue to staff the area as long as weather conditions allow.”