Firefighters halt spread of fire to historic site at Barry’s Landing
It took nearly three hours for six local firefighters armed with chainsaws to contain a fire at Barry’s Landing on Sunday evening due to dense brush and extremely dry conditions.
The fire was located dangerously close to the historic Hillsboro cabins.
According to assistant fire chief Bob Mangus, the fire burned approximately two-thirds of an acre, coming as close as 75 yards from the historic cabins. A fire crew with three fire trucks and two pick-up trucks were dispatched to the scene at around 6 p.m. The crew worked tirelessly to contain the fire and to prevent its spread.
“It was all hand work,” explained Mangus. “You really couldn’t get your trucks to it. So, we put six guys in there with chain saws and rakes and built a fire line around it. Then we cut everything down that was burning and piled it in the middle to get rid of it.”
Mangus said, since the fire took place on National Park Service land, a Park Service crew was also deployed, but the fire was pretty much contained by the time they arrived about an hour and a half later.
He noted that the extremely dry conditions contributed to the danger, but fortunately the wind was calm. He said witnesses saw three lightning strikes hit the ground right before the fire ignited. He concluded that the fire was most likely started by one of the strikes.
“It’s awful dry and hot out there,” noted Mangus. “The fire season is just getting started.”
On Monday, the Big Horn County fire warden issued a fire ban for all of Big Horn County. This fire ban remained in effect through Wednesday, but Mangus said he would expect the ban to continue if the current fire conditions persist.