Firefighters are combatting a 5-acre fire reported Friday afternoon just south of a campground on the North Fork in the Shoshone National Forest.

Forest spokesman Evan Guzik announced the fire Saturday morning as being caused by lightning from storm cells that came through the area Friday afternoon.

A type 3 firefighting team of Wyoming personnel was ordered out to provide overhead and support as well as additional firefighting resources. As of the last update Sunday via the National Interagency Fire Center, the fire was listed at 0% contained.

“We were able to have a helicopter fly over it last night,” Guzik said in a Monday interview. “We took another flight this morning, and it’s still at 5 acres.”

The fire is located on a ridge line between the Elk Fork and June Creek drainages, approximately 1 mile south of Clearwater Creek Campground. Due to the location, steep terrain and expected weather, Guzik is not safe to directly engage the fire at its edge.

“The safety of firefighters and the public is always the top priority for the Shoshone National Forest when responding to incidents,” the release states. “Fire managers will work with the incoming team to develop a plan to suppress the fire using a confine and contain strategy.”

He said the fire team, now up to 40 people handling everything from logistics to firefighting, is waiting to see if the fire spreads and then they’ll “engage it on our terms.”

Guzik said at this point the highway isn’t under threat from the fire.

Forest staff are asking the public to be on the lookout for increased responder traffic in the Wapiti area and along the North Fork Highway.

The Shoshone National Forest is currently in very high fire danger. People are advised to remain vigilant with any possible ignition sources to include vehicle mufflers on tall grass, dragging tow chains and campfires.