Buffalo Pasture Fire Could Take A Long Time To Fight

A wildland fire in the Big Horn Mountains on the Crow Indian Reservation hasn’t grown much since it was spotted, but battling the blaze could be very time consuming thanks to the terrain.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Branch of Wildland Fire Management says as of noon Wednesday (June 16th), the Buffalo Pasture Fire is estimated to have burned a little more than 250 acres, since it was spotted in the Little Bull Elk Canyon on Tuesday.

It’s approximately a two-hour drive from Crow Agency to the canyon.

With dense timber and 800 to 1,000 tons per acre of wood to burn in the area, the canyon is unsafe for firefighters to dig a line until the fire cools significantly.

Retardant drops slowed the fire’s initial run northward toward Bighorn Lake, which is about 7 miles away.

As of Wednesday morning the fire is creeping along canyon walls to the northeast and southwest.

Tribal Game Wardens are closing the mountains at Cowboy Camp near Windy Point.

Because of the situation, air resources and elite crews have been diverted to higher priority incidents nearby.