Day: August 13, 2007

As the temperature climbed Monday afternoon, and the wind picked up a little, the fire’s intensified. This picture is of the section around Red Grade Road. It appears as if it’s trying hard to move down into the grasslands of the foothills. At the time I’m writing this, it has just rained a little here in Sheridan, and I hope some of that also fell on the fire and in its path. Of course the rain is a double-edged sword as with it came thunder and lightning which could start more fires.

This shot is the best one I could get of the Little Goose Canyon area since I couldn’t get much closer because of the road closure, but as you can see, it is still burning as well. Ther is an update on the KOTA Territory News website. Three structures have now been destroyed and others damaged, and the fire is considered zero (0) percent contained.

That’s what they seem to be calling the August 2007 fire in the Big Horn Mountains near Sheridan. This photo was taken about 8pm on Sunday evening just west and south of the town of Big Horn, WY. I didn’t have my tripod and the shutter speed was 1 second at ISO 720 so it’s a little fuzzy. This morning I took a quick drive up past the town of Big Horn and with the overcast, lower temperatures and virtually no wind, the northward advance along the eastern face appears to have slowed considerably, however there is still considerable smoke at Little Goose Canyon, and especially toward the top of the canyon.

On a whim, I took a drive out Sunday night around midnight, and could see the fire clearly at that time. There was something eerily beautiful with the orange flames against the black of night. While I was thinking of how beautiful it was, I was also thinking of the destruction, but then again, it’s all part of life on this blue ball, and fire is not only a sign of destruction, it is also a sign of rebirth. The only official report I could quickly find on the fire was at the Kota Territory News website.