I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the emergency personnel who worked on the Sheepherder Hill fire on Casper Mountain. Your efforts and hard work spared numerous homes that otherwise would have burned. Unfortunately, there were 37 homes that were destroyed. The investigators still have not determined the cause of this massive fire that burned roughly 15, 556 acres.
A special thank you to Rusty Dunham of the Bar Nunn Fire Department! He was stationed up at Crimson Dawn working to save that wonderful piece of history. Congratulations to him and his team because they were able to save the museum and the buildings surrounding it. I did a blog post about Crimson Dawn one week before the fire (talk about luck.) You can check it out here http://www.mywyomingadventure.com/crimson-dawn/ . Mr. Dunham shared with me a couple of great pictures while he was up there.
This is my picture that I took one week before the fire. The next picture is one that Mr. Dunham sent me of the DC-10.
This is a picture of the DC-10 that was dropping slurry around the Crimson Dawn Area.
Photo courtesy of Rusty Dunham
Photo courtesy of Rusty Dunham
Casper Mountain is accessible again, so I was able to capture a few photos of the burn out areas.
This was just a small portion that I was able to capture. Given the wind direction, I believe it was near where the fire may have originated.
The Bar Nunn Fire Department will be making a calendar, of the Sheepherder Hill fire, with before and after fire pictures, for a fundraiser. I imagine there will be some great photos in this calendar. I will keep you posted when they come available.
Wow, I wasn’t aware there was a fire there. Hadn’t heard from our bishop there. Are you familiar with Holy Family Anglican Church, near the mountain? Bishop Kenneth Kinner? He’s well known in Casper. Always a pleasure to keep updated with what’s going on in Casper.
Hi Holly: I am not familiar with Bishop Kinner 🙁 . I did a blog post about the fire when it was happening. I got some really cool pictures of the smoke coming over the mountain. It’s called the sheepherder hill fire if you wanted to check it out. The fire was quite scary!
Kristina, Such devastation! Even so, the photographs and scenery are still amazing. Hopefully, the wildlife that inhabited the mountain was able to find shelter in the surrounding area.
Thanks Kris! The center of the mountain, as well as the mountain behind Casper Mountain has not burned, so, thankfully, the animals are still able to find food and shelter. Wildlife officials were warning people that some of the animals may find their way into more populated areas.
Kristina, I remember your Crimson Dawn post and I’m so glad that piece of history was saved. Those fires are so damaging and scary. I really feel for those who lost their homes. I’d like to salute that fire department too! I have great respect for the men and women who do that job. Great photos.
Thanks Madilyn! I was thrilled when I heard that Crimson Dawn was saved. It is now closed for the season, so I will have to go check it out when it opens next year.