Here is the latest news on the 10,000+ acre wildfire burning out of control northeast of Pryor.
Many engines and aerial resources from nearby agencies are cooperating to slow this blaze, which showed “extreme fire behavior” earlier Tuesday and is threatening a few homes east of Pryor Creek.
Please avoid the area and recognize that the windy evening and low humidities may keep the fire moving overnight. A Yellowstone County Sheriff’s deputies are urgently suggesting voluntary evacuation for a few nearby neighbors.
Two single engine air tankers were loading and returning from Billings Tuesday to assist the BIA helicopter from Crow Agency and a helicopter from Montana DNRC to slow the Pryor Creek Rd wildfire, which was showing extreme fire behavior southeast of the junction of Pryor Creek Road and Blue Creek Road.
“Farmers harvest dryland grain where the fire started about 1:20 p.m. on farmed flats east of Pryor Creek Road, four miles northeast of Pryor. The fire was human-caused. The first engine on scene reported it at 100 acres. The initial Incident Commander Jayson Bearcrane had a light and two medium BIA engines, Big Horn County Rural Fire, Lockwood Fire and Bureau of Land Management engines on scene as well as air attack overhead: a propeller plane to help coordinate aerial operations. A Yellowstone County Sheriff’s deputy was advising looky-loos on the pavement to please avoid the entire fire area, as the fire may approach Pryor Creek Road. The Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office is going door to door suggesting voluntary evacuation for a few nearby homeowners,” said BIA Fire Management.
Hot dry 34 mph gusts from the south fanned the fire to jump the graveled Hay Creek Road with 10-foot flames about 3:40 p.m., when air attack requested large air tankers to assist fighting the fire in 93 degree heat, 12% relative humidity and 34 mph wind.
At 5 p.m. engines were preparing to defend an unoccupied home under construction. Construction workers wisely left the area. A bulldozer, five more engines and water tenders were enroute to help secure the rear of the fire. Taig O’Donnell of the BLM, who is credentialed as a “Type 3 IC” to manage a busy larger fire such as this, has become Incident Commander.
A National Weather Service fire meteorologist wrote, “It will be very windy at the fire site over the next 24 hours… Wind will persist overnight,” with gusts to 40 mph. With the dry cold frontal passage Tuesday night, winds should shift clockwise to blow from the west, then from the northwest by morning, driving the fire away from the inhabited valley of Pryor Creek.
