Firefighters from multiple federal, state, and local agencies continued to make strong progress yesterday on the 17,606-acre Neiber Fire, burning seven miles south of Worland, Wyoming on private property, and Bureau of Land Management lands. Additional crews and resources arrived at the fire and command was transferred to Wyoming Type 3 Incident Management Team 2, led by Incident Commander Dave Wilkins.
Aviation, crews, and heavy equipment are working in a mixture of short grass and brush to protect resources in the affected area near the Murphy Dome Oil Field. The Neiber Fire threatens critical sage grouse habitat, active grazing permit areas, and other improvements.
Firefighting resources include two Type 2 initial attack handcrews, seventeen fire engines with crews, two bulldozers, two watertenders, eight fixed-wing aircraft including a very large air tanker (VLAT), and three helicopters. Due to the effective use of aviation and ground resources, no oil and gas structures have been lost.
“All agencies have shown great cooperative effort and we are making good progress on the fire,” said Incident Commander Dave Wilkins yesterday evening.
Fire behavior was less active on Thursday than the previous day. The ongoing warming and drying trend will continue today and into the weekend. Highs will be in the mid and upper 90s with low humidity and without rainfall.
To ensure public and firefighter safety, the public should exercise caution along Neiber Road south to the Murphy Dome Oil Field. In addition to suppression efforts, heavy fire traffic will be active in the area throughout the day. Fire restrictions are in effect for Hot Springs, Washakie, Fremont, and Big Horn counties.