Smoke lingers from western fires

Hot Springs County has been covered in a cloud of smoke for many days now, and folks are wondering where its coming from.

Fires burning along the West Coast, specifically California, are what is causing the haze hanging around town.

Fortunately, Hot Springs County has been very lucky this fire season with only 712 acres having burned over the past three months, according to fire chief Mark Collins. That acreage came from a total of 66 small fires within the county.

The Zimmerman Ridge fire, which was put out last week between Hot Springs and Washakie Counties burned a total of 3,857 acres, 3,215 of which was on BLM land, 640 acres on state land and 2 private acres.

While we are not under a burn ban in our area, most of Wyoming is, per the BLM, so if you are planning on camping outside the county, please check for current conditions and fire restrictions where you are going.

Hot and dry conditions this week has created elevated fire conditions.