Rapidly growing Fish Creek Fire closes highway 26/287 over Togwotee Pass

Update: U.S. Highway 26/287 reopened Friday morning.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation closed U.S. Highway 26/287 over Togwotee Pass on Thursday afternoon in response to the heat- and wind-driven expansion of the Fish Creek Fire.

Fire officials estimate the size of the blaze at more than 10,000 acres, more than triple the size it was on Wednesday morning.

There is no estimate for when the road — one of the major routes to Jackson and Grand Teton National Park — will reopen.

Lightning ignited the forest fire on Aug. 16 southwest of Togwotee Pass. A new “complex incident management team” was ordered to manage the blaze on Thursday.

Fremont County Emergency Management has issued level 2 evacuation notices — warning people to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice — for homes on West Pinnacle, East Pinnacle and Breccia drives, Pinnacle Lane and for Brooks Lake Road including Brooks Lake Lodge.

For more WyoFile reporting on the ongoing wildfires in Wyoming, click here .

The post Rapidly growing Fish Creek Fire closes highway 26/287 over Togwotee Pass appeared first on WyoFile .