Teton-area fire clouding skies

If you wondering what's filling this (Tuesday) evening's skies with smoke, the culprit is apparently a fire in the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the situation is expected to continue for the next few days.

That's the information Shoshone National Forest fire information officer Olga Troxel passed along in an email tonight.

Courtesy photo/Inciweb.org

Troxel writes: "Smoke visible in the vicinity of Cody this afternoon is from the Bear Cub Fire on the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
The fire burning in the Noland Meadows area of the Teton Wilderness is estimated at between 200 and 500 acres. The fire is believed to have been started by lightning experienced in the last 48 hours.


Winds blowing from the southwest are pushing the smoke onto the Shoshone National Forest and into Cody and possibly Meeteetse.


The short term forecast indicates this trend will continue for the next several days."

Troxel also reminded folks that fire restrictions are already in effect because of the dry conditions.

In Park County, fireworks are only legal on private land with the landowner's permission; they'll effectively be banned altogether starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 5.