Firefighters battled the Long View Fire that burned west of Cokeville in August of 2024. Officials are hoping to avoid similar fires this year as conditions reach critical status in Lincoln County. Photo credit: Kelly Hoffman.

As the dry summer continues, moisture levels in vegetation continue to decline. According to Kelly Hoffman, Lincoln County Fire Warden, moisture levels have reached critical status in most vegetation on county land. Hoffman stated that studies done on a variety of plants throughout the county have yielded concerning results.

“Luckily so far this year the fires we have seen have not been human caused and have been able to be contained fairly quickly,” commented Hoffman. “We would like to keep it that way as we reach drier and drier conditions. We are asking residents to please use extreme caution this time of year with any fire related activity.”

While conditions currently do not quite warrant restrictions in the county, Hoffman emphasized that should a fire break out there is the potential for it to be spread very quickly. To help limit the potential for wildfires, Hoffman provided the following suggestions to all residents. 

• Clear the outside area they are welding in about 10 ft in diameter or better yet do it inside their shed on non flammable floors\
• Make sure campfires, wherever they have them, are cold to the touch out and only use them in a fire ring or good pit
• Burn trash (where allowed) in the evenings or early morning with no wind and with a screen on the barrels and no vegetation around the barrels
• Only use fireworks in non-flammable areas – think a bare dirt area without vegetation. Fireworks can be a real danger anytime, let alone when it’s dry like this year
• It goes without saying that lighting off huge piles of wood or other debris is not a good idea now.