GILLETTE, Wyo. — In a Friday morning press conference, Campbell County Fire Marshal Stuart Burnham said that while both the Flat Rock and Constitution Fires continued to grow in size, updated figures for both will take further evaluation.
Numbers will likely be forthcoming with a department press release update this afternoon, but both fires may need to be flown over before they can be accurately mapped out, Burnham said.
“We do know that, due to weather conditions, both of them have grown. Should have a better idea on size this afternoon, they’re going to try and map those fires. Due to the size they’ll likely have to fly it, and then try and map it,” he said.
Burnham also noted that earlier requests that were sent out to a regional network were being fulfilled, with crews and equipment being assigned to incidents as they arrive.
What complicated the firefighting effort was the concurrent growth of both fires, stretching resources in the county thin. In past fire seasons, Burnham said, fires of this size were not necessarily uncommon, but multiple fires at that scale made them more difficult to address.
The Constitution Fire in particular is challenging due to the rocky and tree-heavy terrain in the burn area.
“That’s not to say the Flat Rock Fire isn’t a challenge, it’s just that they present different challenges. The Flat Rock Fire, when you’re in the sage and grass, that fire is going to spread a little bit quicker than if it’s consuming trees, and so the spread on that can be pretty rapid,” Burnham explained.
Infrastructure and homes in the area of the Flat Rock Fire also add another layer of complexity to the firefighting. Weather and dry vegetation continue to impact both fires.
“So good news, we are getting more resources. We’ll see if we can start to deploy those and be strategic about it. The real challenge is the weather,” Burnham said.
