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Game Creek residents prepare for fire evacuation

Jackson Hole News & Guide, Bradly J. Boner
/
Associated Press

Last night, officials lifted an evacuation advisory for East Jackson after containing the northwestern corner of a wildfire burning behind Snow King Mountain.

Now, concern is shifting south of town to the Game Creek area where residents have been told to start planning for a possible evacuation.

Operations Section Chief Allen Mitchell directs tactical resources on the fire line.

“That northwest corner, we feel confident that that's going to stay contained, but weather is changing so we're going to be changing our tactical operation in advance of that to be ready for it."

Nearly 600 firefighters and 10 helicopters are working to contain the more-than-three-thousand acre fire. Mitchell says forecasters are calling for winds out of the north to begin Saturday and last through Monday. Those winds could push the fire south toward about 60 homes in the Game Creek area. Sheriff's deputies will begin patrolling that area to get familiar with neighborhoods in case of an evacuation.

Mitchell says homeowners can help by creating a defensible space around their home. That could include moving wood piles and clearing vegetation away from homes.

During a public meeting last night, officials appeared more confident about battling the blaze since they've received more firefighters and air support, resources that are now becoming more available as major fires in Idaho begin to wind down.

A multi-media journalist, Rebecca Huntington is a regular contributor to Wyoming Public Radio. She has reported on a variety of topics ranging from the National Parks, wildlife, environment, health care, education and business. She recently co-wrote the one-hour, high-definition documentary, The Stagecoach Bar: An American Crossroads, which premiered in 2012. She also works at another hub for community interactions, the Teton County Library where she is a Communications and Digital Media Specialist. She reported for daily and weekly newspapers in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Wyoming for more than a decade before becoming a multi-media journalist. She completed a Ted Scripps Fellowship in Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado in 2002. She has written and produced video news stories for the PBS series This American Land (thisamericanland.org) and for Assignment Earth, broadcast on Yahoo! News and NBC affiliates. In 2009, she traveled to Guatemala to produce a series of videos on sustainable agriculture, tourism and forestry and to Peru to report on the impacts of extractive industries on local communities.