Crook County cleared residents of the Fish Fire south of Sundance, Wyoming, to return to their homes this morning after issuing evacuation orders earlier this week.
Residents should be aware of fire traffic and incoming wet weather as they return, according to a press release from the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team.
The fire has burned 6,668 acres since it began Sunday. Portions of the blaze are within the Black Hills National Forest. Crews on the scene have the fire 44 percent contained.
"Overall, the strategy remains to be the same as it has been over the last several days, is full suppression, and we are going direct as possible, which means that we’re going to keep it as close to the fire edge as we can,” said Doug Cupp, the management team’s operations section chief trainee, in an update.
The release reported no growth and minimal fire activity since Thursday. Fire control lines set on the south and northwest sides of the fire have contained further spread. Fire crews will focus on containing the east and west sides of the blaze next, especially the northeast area near the forest where fire activity has been the highest.
“There’s a lot of little spots that are just along the edge that they’re concerned about,” Cupp said of the northeast side. “We have hand crews in this particular area really taking their time making sure that they’re catching all of these.”
High humidity and low temperatures this weekend are expected to help contain further spread, as well.
Reports show the fire is a result of human activity. The exact cause is still under investigation.
