Wednesday’s winds shifted from a dry cold front to pushing the Pryor Creek Road fire to the east, away from homes.
Many engines and aerial resources are on the fire which burned grass and creek bottoms.

Dry cold fronts blow larger in early autumn. The size of the fire size is now estimated to be 1,000 to 2,000 acres as firefighters continue to make progress knocking it down.
A more accurate figure will come from mapping the fire’s ragged edges in the daylight Wednesday. Managers have estimated from 250 to 10,000 acres burned.

Tuesday, efforts focused on protecting threatened homes and structures. Two outbuildings were lost and 20 to 30 homes were threatened.

Less inhabited ranch lands east of Pryor Creek, leading toward Wild Horse Ridge (no wild horses, just a geographic name) and Beauvais Creek areas are in front of the fire.

Resources on the fire include aircraft and engines from cooperating nearby agencies. BIA Crow and Pryor engine crews returned to quarters before dawn for mandatory recuperation, but Crow Agency helicopter and firefighters will be working the fire today. Bob Culbreth is incident commander. No injuries are reported.

Stiff winds are blowing Wednesday and are expected on Thursday from the northwest and west, gusting to 25 mph. The winds may lull this afternoon for a few hours, but relative humidity should drop to 13% as temperatures rise to 88 degrees. Winds from the west return with gusts to 30 mph Wednesday evening then howl up to 35 mph through Thursday.

Long grass is everywhere from summer rains – please stay cautious.