Firefighters plan to spend today (Friday) continuing to work to protect structures from the June Fire. An infrared flight pegged the North Fork blaze at an estimated 1,983 acres on Thursday night, after rain slowed its growth during the day.

Roughly 200 personnel are currently working to put out the June Fire. It's located about 1.5 miles south of the UXU Ranch and U.S. Highway 14/16/20 in the Shoshone National Forest.

Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black, a more advanced team, assumed command of firefighting operations at 6 a.m. Friday. Fire managers have planned at 6 p.m. community meeting to discuss fire operations at Yellowstone Valley Inn, 3324 North Fork Highway (14/16/20), west of Cody.

"Due to the steep, rugged terrain and the amount of beetle-killed timber in the area, fire managers will continue to use indirect firefighting techniques and not put firefighters into areas that are unsafe," Shoshone officials said Thursday night.

The Elk Fork Trail, Blackwater Trail and Elk Fork Campground have been closed for public safety. Visitors on the North Fork Highway are reminded to be vigilant of increasing numbers of firefighting personnel and equipment.

On Friday, firefighters planned to continue to work on protecting structures along the highway, using hose lays, sprinklers and hand line. Part of that work will involve improving hand line that was installed Thursday along Blackwater Ridge. They'll also look for opportunities to extend that line to the north and east along the North Fork corridor "while minimizing risk to firefighters and maximizing the protection of the values at risk," Team Black said in a Friday release. "Aviation resources will assist firefighters as needed with bucket drops and reconnaissance as needed."

The fire started Tuesday evening, with its cause currently under investigation.