Imperial residents puzzled by Saturday’s smoky haze

    Imperial Fire Chief Doug Mitchell said he was getting a lot of calls and texts Saturday morning from members of his department.
    The firefighters may have wondered if they missed a fire call, based on the heavy smoke that was hanging over Imperial.
    It was not a fire in Imperial’s district, Mitchell said.
    Rather, the smoke was drifting this way from the Mullen Fire in Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest, 38 miles west of Laramie.
    It was not Saturday’s fire north of Lake McConaughy, either, that called out area fire departments, including Grant, for mutual aid. Mitchell said he thought the IVFD might be called to assist at that one.
    “But, that was put out fast before the wind” came up later in the day, he said.
    Meanwhile the Mullen Fire,  which started Sept. 17, raged on.
    The fire was reported in the Savage Run Wilderness and spread rapidly in extremely rugged terrain, with dense vegetation and beetle-killed deadfall.
    On Sept. 22, command of the fire was transferred to the Rocky Mountain Area Incident Management Blue Team, and continues to burn actively. The forest area has been closed to the public, and some highways are closed off in that area.
    Only 2% of the wildfire was contained Monday. The U.S. Forest Service reported Wednesday 96,757 acres had already burned.
    Forest Service officials also reported the fire’s potential to spread is high, adding protection of the Rob Roby Reservoir remains a high priority as it is the main water source for the city of Cheyenne. They’re also working to protect the Wyoming Infrared Observatory.
    Cause of the Mullen Fire is under investigation. Officials aren’t expecting containment until Oct. 30. The report showed 887 personnel are on the scene.