Lovell firemen help snuff out fire at Cookstove Basin

The last thing anyone from Big Horn County wanted last week was a forest fire to match the Elk Fire on the eastern flank of the Big Horn Mountains, so when Lovell Volunteer Fire Dept. assistant chief Bob Mangus heard about a small blaze in Cookstove Basin on the northwest edge of the forest, he leapt into action.

“It had been burning for quite a while, but nobody had turned it in,” Mangus said. “Some hunters finally called it in and gave a GPS reading. The Cody Interagency Dispatch called to see if somebody could run up and see if it was a legit fire, because there had been so many calls (reporting fires).”

Mangus responded last Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 2.

“I called Tyrell Bischoff, who was at the cow camp at Cookstove, and luckily he was on top and answered his phone,” Mangus said. “He took off looking for it and ran into the guy who turned it in. It was a legit fire.”

Meanwhile, the Forest Service dispatched a two-person crew from Greybull who had been at a fire near Sibley Lake.

“They responded and were a little bit ahead of me,” Mangus said. “They called a helicopter crew from the Elk Fire, and they dumped off four guys. They hooked a bucket up, and the helicopter flew to the bottom of Cookstove at the beaver ponds to get water.

“They made four drops and loaded up the crew and went back to the Elk Fire. That left two Forest Service guys and myself.”

Seeking some extra help, Mangus called for a Lovell firetruck and three firemen. The fire was small, about half an acre, Mangus estimated, and was located near the Montana border right above the Blue Shale Wall near Reservation Hole.

“It was burning downed pine needles and duff,” Mangus said. “It had probably been burning for a week. We provided them (the Forest Servicer crew) with water and did some mopping up. I figured with us being there it prevented them from having to monitor it at night. They were able to head home. We left at 7:55 and got home around 10.”

As for the Elk Fire, Mangus said the Lovell fire department, as part of a mutual aid agreement, is tasked with executing the initial attack if any fires pop up on the western half of the mountain, working on a fire until the Forest Service crew gets there.”

Mangus said conditions on the mountain are extremely dry.

“It’s horrible,” he said. “There’s absolutely no moisture on the forest right now.”