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Yellowstone National Park officials report the East Entrance Road is open on a limited basis and US Highway 191 is open with reduced speeds. All visitor facilities in the park are open.
The East Entrance Road will be open on a limited basis until further notice with two 3-hour open periods each day: 6:00 am - 9:00 am and 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. It will be closed the rest of the time. There will be no stopping along a 16 mile stretch of the road, and the speed limit will be 25 mph due to heavy traffic and firefighters along the road. No bicycles will be allowed. Depending on smoke conditions, there may be pilot cars leading traffic over the road. The road could close again at any time if smoke or fire conditions make travel unsafe. An alternative route for visitors approaching or leaving the park through Cody, Wyoming is the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway (WY Route 296) through the Northeast Entrance.
U.S. Highway 191 remains open with a reduced speed of 35 mph through the area affected by the fire.
Following is information on active Yellowstone fires:
Rathbone Fire : This fire was started by lightning on August 20 in the Gallatin National Forest just outside the west boundary of the park. The size is estimated to be 4,469 acres. A Type 2 incident management team is in place to manage the fire. For information on the Rathbone Fire, please call: 406-646-0643 or 406-587-6703.
Union Fire: This fire is still around 800 acres in size. It is being closely watched and is managed in a confinement strategy. Remote weather stations are in place. It will continue to be monitored from the air.
There have been a total of 73 fires during the 2003 fire season - 7 human caused and 66 lightning caused.
With a greatly reduced need for initial attack on new fires in the park, attention is now turning to rehabilitation of many of the park's fires from this season. Yellowstone firefighters use minimum impact management techniques when fighting fires as much as possible. However, it is usually still necessary during firefighting operations to dig firelines down to mineral soil and cut snags. "Rehab" efforts include flush-cutting stumps and spreading out limbs, removing all trash and equipment, installing water
bars on sloping firelines to check erosion, and removing evidence of spike camps.
Backcountry trails currently closed due to fire activity include the Turbid Lake, Jones Pass, Ninemile, Avalanche Peak, Pelican Valley to Mist Pass, Pitchstone Plateau, Beula Lake and Union Falls Trails, and the west ends of Bighorn, Fawn Pass, Fan Creek, Sportsman Lake, Daly, and Black Butte trails. Visitors using the backcountry are encouraged to call the backcountry office at (307) 344-2160 for specific trail closure information and other possible restrictions.
There was only isolated rain in the park yesterday, mainly in the north. Today's weather forecast calls for mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. High temperatures will be from 58 - 63 degrees, with relative humidity at 45 percent. Winds will be out of the southwest at 10 mph by late afternoon, with ridge top winds from the east around 10 mph in the morning becoming south at 20 mph in the afternoon. The extended forecast calls for partly cloudy with a chance for showers and
thunderstorms, then a warming and drying trend after Labor Day.
Yellowstone Fire Management policy requires that all human-caused fires be suppressed but that natural fires be allowed to burn as long as they do not threaten people, property or resource values. Before any wildland fire is allowed to burn, however, it must be carefully evaluated and meet an inventory of pre-established criteria (including current and forecasted weather and wind conditions, fuel moisture levels, site location data, and sufficient resources).
If all criteria are not met on a daily basis, the fire must be reassessed to determine whether it will still be allowed to burn or if it must be immediately suppressed. With the current dry conditions in the park and the lack of significant moisture, each new fire start is being carefully evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine whether the appropriate management action will be to suppress or allow new fire starts to burn. With few exceptions, the park is in full suppression mode because of observed extreme fire behavior, very dry fuels, and limited fire fighting resources.
Stringent fire restrictions went into effect on August 16. No wood or charcoal fires will be allowed at any of the frontcountry areas. This includes the use of fire grates, charcoal grills, fire pans, and any other ember-producing equipment in all campgrounds, picnic areas, parking areas, and employee housing. Additionally, no smoking is allowed in the frontcountry except within buildings where smoking is normally permitted, in vehicles, or designated smoking areas?provided an ashtray is used. Other
restrictions implemented July 17 prohibit any backcountry wood or charcoal fires, and smoking is restricted to the immediate vicinity of the cooking area in designated backcountry sites only.
For a recorded message of updated fire information, call: 307-344-2580. For fire maps and other fire information, visit the park's web site at: http://www.nps.gov/yell/technical/fire/index.htm.
Information provided by the NPS
Comments or Suggestions are Welcome. Send To: John@Yellowstone-Natl-Park.Com. Thank You!
East and Grizzly Fires: Most of the planned fireline on these fires has been constructed and good progress is being made on rehabilitation. The Northwest Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team, which has been managing the East ? Grizzly Complex, is beginning the process of demobilization. The fires will be turned over to a Type 3 team managed by Yellowstone National Park sometime this weekend. The current size estimate of the two fires combined is about 23,500 acres. The fires are 70% contained. For information on these two fires, please call: 307-242-9115.
There were numerous lightning strikes in the park yesterday afternoon, and one new start was reported late, located between Mt. Washburn and Canyon Village.