Strong winds Wednesday brought to life a fire that likely ignited from a series of storms that passed through the Yellowstone National Park area more than a week ago, according a National Park Service news release.
As of Thursday afternoon, the 75-acre Arthur 2 Fire was about a mile and a half miles southwest of Yellowstone's East Entrance. No closures were in effect.
Large amounts of dead upright and down timber — victims of the 2001 Arthur Fire — comprise the sequel's fuel.
No firefighters were battling the blaze Thursday.
“Because of the acres of snags and the heavy dead and down fuels, there is no way to get firefighters in there safely, no safety zone and no escape routes,” said Fire Management Officer Joe Krish.
Since it was lightning-ignited, the blaze qualifies as natural and the Park Service generally tries to allow natural processes to occur in Yellowstone.
“Yellowstone has requested a wildland fire management team to do a long-term analysis plan for the Arthur 2 Fire,” said the release.
Shoshone National Forest personnel also are involved in the decision to manage the fire, the release said.
Only about 20 percent of the fire’s perimeter is active, the release said.
Updates on the Arthur 2 Fire can be found on the Inciweb website.
(Revised at 6 p.m. to show that the Park Service has renamed the fire from "East Fire" to "Arthur 2 Fire." The new name better reflects the location of the fire, the Park Service said.)
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