Pole Creek Escaped Prescribed Fire 2014

At 1752 on June 10, 2014 the Pole Creek Prescribed Burn was declared a wildfire. The burn was located on the Bridger-Teton NF on the Kemmerer RD, approximately 25 miles northeast of Kemmerer, WY. Prescribed fire activities for the Pole Creek project began on the morning of Saturday, June 7th. Ignitions continued for several days. At 1600 Tuesday the Burn Boss Trainee and Zone FMO (also acting as Firing Boss) attended the scheduled meeting to discuss the unfinished burn unit. During the meeting a spot weather forecast indicating the imminent passage of a cold front was transmitted to the fire, simultaneously the fire was experiencing high winds. A clump of trees along an open piece of line torched, spotted outside the unit and eventually slopped over the northern project boundary. High winds hindered attempts to control the spot fire, by the crews and helicopter on scene, which were ultimately not effective. Due to concerns of the fire spreading to a timber sale located north of the fire and the need for additional resources, the Burn Boss made the decision to declare the prescribed burn a wildfire.