Wildfire, Fremont
- When
- July 4, 1:00 PM MST to July 7, 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Fremont County, 20 mi SE of Lander
- Property damage
- $70,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.041, -108.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Wyoming, July 4 to 7, 2001
The Sheep Mountain Fire was started by lightning. The fire burned 1,500 acres .
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $70,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS RIW wrote it up.
The Sheep Mountain Fire was started by lightning. The fire burned 1,500 acres . One fire truck was destroyed. The damage is estimated.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Riverton, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 4, 12:55 PM MST, 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 12:55 PM MST, 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 155 PM MDT WED JUL 4 2001 THINGS STARTING TO FIRE ACROSS THE AREA IN AN ATMOSPHERE THAT IS BECOMING MORE CONDUCIVE FOR CONVECTION. DEEPER MOISTURE NOW ROTATING INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTH AND WEST...ALONG WITH SHORTWAVE ENERGY TO PROVIDE THE IMPETUS. WILL TAILOR FORECAST FOR TONIGHT BASED ON CURRENT SATELLITE IMAGERY AND OBSERVATIONS. FOR TOMORROW...MODELS INDICATE A DRY SLOT AND ABSENCE OF ENERGY FOR THE MOST PART...SO WILL KEEP FORECAST PRIMARILY DRY FOR TOMORROW. MOISTURE AND MORE ENERGY BEGIN TO AFFECT MAINLY THE NORTHERN TIER OF COUNTIES TOMORROW EVENING. AS UPPER HIGH BEGINS SHIFTING EAST AND SOUTH FOR FRIDAY...WE SHOULD BEGIN TO PICK UP EVEN MORE MOISTURE AND SHORTWAVE ACTIVITY THROUGH SATURDAY. FORECAST FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS HAS TRENDED THIS WAY SO THINGS APPEARS IN GOOD SHAPE AND ON TRACK. WILL KEEP EXTENDED PRETTY MUCH AS IS SINCE IT ALSO APPEARS IN GOOD SHAPE. .RIW...NONE VALONE
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 4, 9:30 AM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
WYZ026>028-042100- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 1030 AM MDT WED JUL 4 2001 SLIGHT SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL IN PART OF NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY LATER TODAY. DISCUSSION...A SURFACE TROF EXTENDING ACROSS THE BIG HORNS MOUNTAINS AND JOHNSON COUNTY WILL PROVIDE THE FOCUS FOR AFTERNOON AND EVENING CONVECTION AS DEEPER MOISTURE DROPS SOUTH INTO THE REGION FROM MONTANA AND THE ATMOSPHERE BECOMES INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE AS HEATING OCCURS AND AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE CROSSES. ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS MAY DEVELOP IN THE VICINITY OF THE TROF AND MOVE SLOWLY EAST ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THE STORMS APPEARS TO BE STRONG AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WIND. THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING. BIG HORN... WASHAKIE... JOHNSON... VALONE WCJIN-WYNW-WYNE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat and Drought in Oklahoma, July 4 to 31, 2001
- Hail in Nebraska, July 4, 2001
- High Surf in Puerto Rico, July 4, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Utah, July 4, 2001
- Heat in Illinois, July 4, 2001
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in South Carolina, July 4, 2001
- Tornado in Kentucky, July 4, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, July 4, 2001
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Virginia, July 4, 2001
- Hail in Nebraska, July 4, 2001
- Flash Flood and Hail in Kentucky, July 4, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 4, 2001
More
Every storm in Wyoming in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, July 2001
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5258153.