Firefighters took advantage of light winds to attack the Robinson Fire from the air on Sunday. The fire is burning in extremely steep and rocky terrain, about 20 miles south of Buffalo.
Helicopters dropped buckets of water to begin controlling the fire inside Robinson Canyon, the most difficult terrain in the fire area. Aircraft have not been able to work inside the canyon when winds were strong and gusty.
In a press release from yesterday, Air Operations Branch Director Jason Hofman stated “When the terrain is too dangerous for ground firefighters to operate, it’s often too risky for aircraft as well.” explained Air Operations Branch Director Jason Hofman. “We’re looking forward to putting our three helicopters to good use today.” The Wyoming National Guard has also provided a medical evacuation helicopter and crew to stand by in case of a serious firefighter injury.
As the airborne firefighting effort ramps up, ground firefighters continue to improve fire lines and scout for more control opportunities in the very rough and rocky terrain.
To date, no structures have been damaged by the fire. A separate group of firefighters continues to assess structures in the areas of Billy Creek, Poison Creek, and Bull Creek, to plan how to protect those structures in case the fire expands in that direction. Roughly half of those structures have been assessed so far, and firefighters hope to make substantial progress on the assessment process today.
On Sunday, fire managers expect moderate fire behavior similar to Saturday’s. Groups of standing green trees continue to occasionally burn. However, the fire is also steadily consuming dead trees and logs, which is a slow, beneficial process. Residents and forest visitors should expect to see smoke for an extended period.
Fire Conditions and Weather
Sunday’s weather will continue to be warm and dry, though afternoon humidity is expected to increase slightly. Winds will be mostly light, out of the northeast and east, with brief gusts possible from the east in the early evening.
Smoke is expected to travel to the west.
