Smoke from the 200-acre Snake Fire burning on the Medicine Bow National Forest in the southern Sierra Madre Range spread across southeastern Wyoming over the weekend, making for particularly hazy skies in the Laramie Valley.

The fire was first reported Saturday evening. It is located in southern Carbon County, five miles southeast of Battle Creek Dispersed Campground and just two miles north of the Wyoming/Colorado state line.

Hunters and campers have been evacuated from the fire area. The public is being kept out of the area, pending an official closure order.

Fuel at this point is mixed conifer and aspen, some of it dead. Timber in the area is not as thick as that being burned by the nearby Broadway and Beaver Creek Fires, according to a news release from the U.S. Forest Service.

Three helicopters, a Type II hand crew and multiple engines were battling the blaze at the time of Sunday's news release. The Forest Service says more resources have been ordered to help fight the flames.

Carbon County and Forest Service engines first responded Saturday evening, when the fire was initially estimated at just 30 acres in size. The fire has since grown rapidly to the east, fanned by west winds near 30 mph and hot, dry conditions.

The cause of the fire was unknown as of Sunday evening.

Cooler temperatures and a chance of precipitation are forecast for the early part of this week.

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