Wyoming Guard To Help Fight Guernsey Fire

Acting Governor, Senate President Jim Anderson, has activated the Wyoming National Guard to assist in fighting the wildfire in east-central Wyoming, which started inside Guernsey State Park.

Senator Anderson is Acting Governor while Governor Matt Mead is in China and Secretary of State Max Maxfield is outside of Wyoming. Senator Anderson made the decision to call on Guard resources after receiving a request for support from the Wyoming State Forestry Division.

According to a news release, three UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and their support teams arrived in Guernsey Sunday afternoon. They were able to start dumping water on the fire this evening. Also in the area are Guard members helping to notify residents of possible evacuations. The 41 Wyoming National Guard troops onsite and working in support of the mission also include 9 firefighters manning two fire trucks.

“There are already homes evacuated in this area and given the analysis of the State Forester, Governor Mead’s staff and the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security I felt it was appropriate to active the Wyoming National Guard,” Acting Governor Jim Anderson said.

Because of the growth of the fire it has been upgraded from a Type III to a Type II Incident. This change occurred under delegation from Platte County, State Forestry and the Bureau of Land Management.