The Clearwater Fire west of Wapiti grew enough Monday night that authorities at one point closed U.S. Highway 14/16/20W at the Shoshone National Forest boundary. However, cooler weather has since enabled firefighters to keep the fire from crossing the highway or burning any structures.

“It did go down Elk Fork toward the highway, but it did not jump the highway,” incident command spokesperson Kim Hemenway said Tuesday morning. “The highway was closed due to smoke … No structures were lost and firefighters are all safe.”

The road was reopened all the way to the East Gate of Yellowstone National Park just before midnight. In announcing the reopening, the Park County Sheriff’s Office advised caution as emergency vehicles were moving up and down the highway for fire suppression activities.

On Wednesday morning, the fire was estimated at 1,047 acres by the Wyoming incident command team that’s leading the fighting of the fire — a massive increase from Monday morning’s estimate of 138 acres.

There are 104 personnel now involved in fighting the fire, which is burning through timber, brush and thick, dead and down fuels on steep slopes, incident command reported. Wednesday’s report noted that warmer temperatures throughout the remainder of the week could create challenges for potential fire growth.

“The location of the fire is in very difficult terrain which makes suppression efforts challenging,” incident command reported.

The sheriff’s office
announced the closures of the Wapiti and Elk Fork campgrounds on Monday night, saying the fire had spread down the Elk Fork drainage to the highway corridor. The campgrounds, the Wapiti Ranger Station and the Pagoda summer homes were evacuated. Later that night, just before 10 p.m., the Wyoming Highway Patrol shut down the highway at the forest boundary, while park rangers shut down the East Gate to Yellowstone. Personnel from Park County Fire District 2, the Bureau of Land Management, Buffalo Bill State Park rangers, Yellowstone National Park rangers and the sheriff’s office assisted in maintaining the closures.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation delivered electronic signs for smoke and safety warnings, and an ambulance was staffed on site for public and firefighter safety, the incident command announced Tuesday. Pumps were run in the Pagoda summer homes to raise humidity and wet fuels. One engine was left staffed to patrol the highway overnight.

These areas are no stranger to fires. In the summer of 2020, the Lost Creek Fire also resulted in the evacuation of the Bill Cody Ranch, among others.

The Clearwater Fire started on July 19 in the early afternoon due to lightning. The epicenter of the fire is located on a ridge line between the Elk Fork and June Creek drainages, approximately 1 mile south of Clearwater Campground.