The east side of Casper Mountain has not seen a fire in over 100 years, but that all changed Sunday afternoon around 4:00 pm. As of right now (09/11/2012 at 8:03 pm), the Sheep Herder Hill fire had burned over 15,000 acres and is only 10 percent contained. Officials have said that some structures have burned, but the number has yet to be determined.
These photos were taken Sunday evening, a couple of hours after it started.
The next set of pictures were taken on Monday, September 10, 2012. The wind had picked up and was gusting to 50 mph. It looked like a bomb went off. I have seen a few wild land fires before, but this was so scary.
Thankfully, there are several planes and helicopters, along with extra ground support fighting the massive fire. One of the coolest aircraft here is the DC-10. The smoke was so thick today, I wasn’t been able to see them and take pictures. I will keep you posted on the advancement of this fire.
That fire is so scary, the smoke is huge!! I feel so bad for everyone near Casper Mountain. I hope you are safely distanced from it. Take care! I pray the fires do not come close to your house. I bet you can smell that awful smoke in the air! These are some of the best still shots I’ve ever seen of such fires.
Thanks Madilyn. I have never seen smoke like that before. It went thousands of feet into the air and looked like mushroom clouds. We are 8 to 10 miles away, so we should be at a safe distance. The fire has now burned 24 square miles. I sure hope there are some homes left for people to go back to.
God that looks awful. Hope it stays away from you. We get excited here when someone lights a garden fire. that must be spectacular if not sad to see…
Thanks Lorraine! It is very scary. We have been under a burn ban since June because of the dry conditions. We can’t even use a charcoal BBQ grill. I sure hope that there are some houses standing when all the smoke clears, but it is not sounding very good.
Do the officials have any idea what started the fire? Are people in your area having to evacuate because of the smoke? Very scary indeed. Your photos, as usual, are impressive!
Thanks Kris! The officials haven’t released the cause yet. The way the fire was growing, I’m not sure if they have had the man power to figure it out. The people on the mountain were evacuated and bout 750 people are on stand-by. They think they may have a handle on it by Saturday. Hopefully, the wind doesn’t kick back up and start blowing it around again.
Hope the fire has started to abate by now. I’ve seen a few doozies, a couple in Arizona and one in Santa Barbara. Nothing is more terrifying than a fire running out of control.
Fires are always so scary. I hope that all is well with you.