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CASPER (WNE) — A fire burning in the Medicine Bow National Forest west of Laramie nearly doubled in size on Sunday to nearly 14,000 acres and prompted multiple evacuations.
The Rambler, …
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CASPER (WNE) — A fire burning in the Medicine Bow National Forest west of Laramie nearly doubled in size on Sunday to nearly 14,000 acres and prompted multiple evacuations.
The Rambler, Rob Roy and Keystone areas have all been evacuated due to the Mullen Fire, Gov. Mark Gordon tweeted Sunday morning.
On Saturday afternoon, the fire had moved to within a mile of 25 summer cabins near Rob Roy Reservoir, Gordon wrote in a separate tweet.
The Mullen Fire has grown quickly since it ignited Thursday. On Friday, it increased to 644 acres. By Saturday, that number had risen to 7,500. Fire managers said there was a “high probability” for more growth on Monday amid strong, gusty winds. Around 100 personnel were working the blaze, including with helicopters and air tankers on the edges.
“This is a major fire, folks,” the Medicine Bow National Forest posted in a tweet on Saturday afternoon.
Strong and shifting winds prompted crews on Saturday to pull back firefighting resources for safety reasons, authorities said. Those conditions also prompted officials to pull aerial resources from the fire. It’s burning in “extremely rugged terrain,” that includes trees toppled by wind and killed by bark beetles.
In response to “extreme fire behavior,” authorities issued a closure order that covered much of the southern Snowy Range in Albany and Carbon counties, according to a press release from the U.S. Forest Service. Authorities on Sunday told residents in the Centennial Valley to prepare for possible evacuations.
In a statement, the Forest Service said it was actively investigating the fire’s cause. Officials had identified the area where the blaze originated and found preliminary information indicating the fire might have been caused by humans.
Law enforcement officers from the Forest Service are requesting public assistance with the ongoing investigation. Anyone with first-hand information on activity in the eastern area of Savage Run Wilderness, in the South Mullen Creek drainage, is asked to call a Medicine Bow National Forest tip line at 307-745-2392.
