Public Asked to Report Suspicious Activity Surrounding Recent Wildfire Starts

Disturbing trends in recent wildfire starts have led local U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement officials to request public vigilance regarding suspicious activity on public lands in southeast Wyoming and northern Colorado.

From July 15-26, five suspicious fires were started on the Medicine Bow-Routt and Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests. The majority of these fires occurred fairly close to the Laramie, Wyo., area. The fires took place near Fox Park, Centennial, Commissary Park, Happy Jack Ski Hill, and Stub Creek, south of Woods Landing. All were suppressed during initial response by fire crews.

The Forest Service is actively investigating, and anyone with specific information on how these fires may have started should contact Law Enforcement Officer Hannah Nadeau at 307-343-2335.

Anyone witnessing future suspicious actions is also encouraged to contact Officer Nadeau.

As always, the U.S. Forest Service encourages fire safety to Forest recreationists. Campers and other public land users need to follow basic fire safety rules:

* Scrape back dead grass and forest materials from your campfire site.

* Keep your campfire small and under control; make it only as big as you need it.

* Keep a shovel and a water container nearby to douse escaped embers.

* Put your campfire dead out before leaving your campsite or going to sleep.

* Do not park vehicles in tall dry grass, since hot tailpipes can cause fine fuels to catch on fire.

* Remember that any ignition – cigarettes, campfires, gunfire, vehicles – could be the cause of a wildland fire, as grass and other vegetation is dry and extremely flammable.

* Always follow current fire restrictions.

* Fireworks are not allowed on federal lands.

* Stage I fire restrictions currently exist on the Thunder Basin National Grassland.

To report a wildland fire, please call the interagency dispatch centers below: 

- Routt NF – Craig Dispatch Center, (970) 826-5037

- Medicine Bow NF, Thunder Basin NG – Casper Dispatch, (307) 261-7691



Jeff
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