The Mullen Fire which has grown steadily in the Medicine Bow National Forest west of Laramie has now reached 82,649 acres as of September 29th, according to the latest InciWeb update this morning. A total of 738 personnel are also now working the fire.
The fire’s incident team will be holding another Q&A briefing tonight at 5:00 pm via Facebook Live. A link to the Facebook page is shared below. In the meantime, the latest fire summary update shared this morning is posted below.
Crews worked yesterday on structure protection in multiple communities, which included both developed areas close to the fire’s perimeter and those a few miles further to the south and west. Air operations played a big role in tactics after two days of waiting for reduced wind speeds to return to the skies. Today, they use retardant to strategically pre-treat areas adjacent to values at risk.
Firefighters prioritized assessing properties for any damaged or destroyed buildings. They shared their findings with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office who took the lead on directly contacting affected homeowners.
Additional crews have been reassigned to the Mullen Fire after being released from fires in the Pacific Northwest. This allows previously unstaffed areas of the fire to be more closely monitored or to be scouted for possible construction of indirect fire line.
Crews will also be conducting fire severity assessments. Often fires will burn in a mosaic pattern, leaving pockets of both burned and unburned fuels. However, when a fire with high intensity quickly moves through an area, it may leave larger swaths of blackened soil and vegetation. This factors into any whether any stabilization or rehabilitation may be needed at a later date.
No containment will be declared until heat near the perimeter has been deemed unlikely to grow beyond any established fire line. This involves monitoring the fire line and adjacent areas for several days for smoldering stumps or trees, ash pits, or any other heat sources.
Information about the fire has been changing quickly so the most up-to-date information, road closures, and evacuations can be viewed by clicking here or visiting the Mullen Fire Facebook page.
County 10 is planning to gather and deliver supplies. Stay tuned for more details!