Crater Ridge Fire Closure Reduction

Officials with the Bighorn National Forest announced Tuesday that recent precipitation has greatly reduced activity in the Crater Ridge Fire area. The need for a large closure is no longer necessary and a portion of the area is reopening to the public for fall recreational use. A closure of the core fire area including Boyd Ridge and the Red Springs/Marble Quarry roads will remain in place until further notice.

According to the Forest Service, this is necessary for rehabilitation work to remove a burned structure, remove hazard trees along roads, and to close dozer lines and lower-level roads opened for suppression to seed them so they don’t become permanent scars. Burned areas are inherently dangerous due to unstable soils and trees falling without warning. The Crater Ridge Fire started on July 17 in a remote area of the Medicine Wheel Ranger District of the Bighorn National Forest 31 miles West of Sheridan. The fire has burned over 7,600 acres and the cause remains undetermined.