Union Pass Road CLOSED due to Purdy Fire
Closed north of Park Creek Meadows Road #627
August 23, 2006
Forest Service officials with the Shoshone and Bridger-Teton National Forests have announced they have put a road closure in effect on the Union Pass Road as of Wednesday morning due to expansion of the Purdy Fire.
The Union Pass Road #600 is CLOSED north of the intersection with Park Creek Meadows Road #627, approximately four miles north of Mosquito Lake. The road is closed just north of the Line Shack on the Dubois side of Union Pass. Note that this closure includes a portion of the Continental Divide Hiking Trail. The closure boundary has not changed from earlier, other than to move the boundary slightly to include the #600 Road rather than using it as the closure boundary. This was done for public safety reasons due to the traffic they were seeing on that road leaving it open. Forest Service personnel have been contacting people recreating and camping in that area and advising them of the closure. Mosquito Lake is still accessible. The closure does not affect the Green River Lakes area, although people there will likely see and smell smoke, depending on the winds. Most of the fire fighting traffic and personnel are accessing the fire from the Dubois side, so Upper Green users probably will encounter minimal fire-related traffic on our side. Closure Map 8/23/06
The wildfire is estimated to be about 15,000 acres in size and threatens approximately 300 structures on the Dubois side of Union Pass on the east side of the Continental Divide. Fire managers expect windy conditions gusting to 30 mph to create extremely active fire behavior beginning late Wednesday morning. Windy conditions are expected again on Thursday. The wind, coupled with the terrain and heavy fuels in the area, could allow the fire to move quickly in a northeast and easterly direction.
There are 517 people assigned to the Purdy fire, including 10 crews, 26 engines, 2 water tender, 6 helicopters, 4 dozers and overhead personnel.
No evacuations have been ordered as of the 11:00 AM Wednesday morning fire update. Geographical locations called trigger points have been established that will result in definitive evacuation orders. These points are established to provide timely information to allow the safe removal of residents and their pre-packed necessities from an approaching emergency. The sheriffs' office will issue official evacuation notices, if needed. Residents should stay tuned to NOAA radios and local radio stations.
Dubois Community Meeting
Wednesday, August 23 at 7:00 PM
Dubois High School Auditorium
More information is available from the Joint Information Center - 307-455-2466 or on the web at www.inciweb.org/incident/402/
|
