Fishing Bridge, WY - Cooler temperatures and higher humidity over the last couple of days slowed the spread of the "East" fire in Yellowstone National Park. Firefighters are concentrating on constructing fireline in the Crow Creek drainage and burning out along fireline north of Sylvan Lake, five miles northwest of the park entrance. Additional fire crews have been mobilized and are being "spiked" (wilderness camp) in the upper reaches of Crow Creek. Crews are digging hand line and will be conducting burnout operations to strengthen fire lines in an effort to prevent the fire from spreading into the densely forested Crow Creek drainage. Fuels in Crow Creek are continuous and there is substantial fuel loading due to insect-kill. Fire fighters are working hard to strengthen firelines in anticipation of a forecasted warming and drying trend and 20 mph winds on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Tuesday, crews working in the northwest sector of the fire in the Pelican Valley installed a pump and sprinkler system to douse a peat fire smoldering underground south of Pelican Creek.

Tomorrow, crews will begin working to construct indirect fireline to take advantage of meadows and other non-forested areas on Signal Hills, south of the Grizzly fire. Crews, working from remote spike camps will be conducting burnout operations both with hand and aerial ignition in the future as weather permits. The strategy is to contain both fires by taking advantage of meadows, rock and other natural fuel breaks.

The East Entrance Road to Yellowstone Park remains under temporary closure. Fire fighters are hoping to complete the removal of roadside snags and debris by late this week. The eventual reopening of the road will ultimately depend upon the success of containment efforts and the degree to which forecasted winds develop. The incident management team and park staff are working to reopen the road as soon as it is safe for public travel. Officials are looking at options for opening the road for scheduled periods during morning and evening hours as safety and fire conditions permit.

As of 5:00 pm Tuesday the size of the East fire is estimated at 15,800 acres. The Grizzly Fire is estimated at 497 acres. A total of 602 firefighters are assigned to the incident (2 Type 1 crews and 14 Type 2 crews), supported by 12 engines, 11 tenders, 1 heavy lift helicopter, 2 medium and 2 light helicopters. Current containment is estimated at 14%. Estimated cost to date is $1,700,000.