Three Small Fires in the Bighorns Under Control

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Three small fires in the northern Big Horns have been contained.

Susie Douglas, spokeswoman for the Big Horn National Forest, says the Bull Elk Park fire burned 85 acres of grass and two acres of timber near Burgess Junction. The Elkhorn and Fool Creek Ridge fires only saw an acre of damage each. Doulgas hopes that with winter approaching, fires will be less common.

"We are cautiously optimistic that the winter storm watch that we’re under is gonna provide some precipitation that means we won’t have to deal with escaped campfires anymore, we’re looking forward to it actually," she says.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fires, which are believed to be caused by escaped camp or hunter fires. Douglas says visitors should continue to be vigilant.

"Even though we do get a couple inches of snow here and there we would like people to be really, really careful to make sure their campfires are out before they leave the area and that will help us a lot," says Douglas.

Snow is forecasted for the area this weekend.