Casper Firefighters Extinguish Blaze Near Yesness Pond Tuesday Morning

Ahead of a red flag warning, Casper firefighters responded to a wildland fire near Yesness Pond early Tuesday morning.

The blaze was quickly contained, according to a Facebook post from the Casper Fire-EMS Department, which warned of rapidly changing weather conditions and increasing fire risk.

Due to the red flag warning, which will be in effect from 10 a.m. through 7 p.m. Tuesday, no fire pit or other burns will be allowed within Casper city limits for the day. That's per the department's recreational burn policy.

The red flag warning, which applies to most of Natrona County as well as eight other counties, anticipates winds of 25-35 mph gusting up to 50 mph with humidities as low as 10% and temperatures in the upper 70s.

That mix of conditions will be conducive to new fire starts and extreme fire behavior, according to the National Weather Service in Riverton.

Residents within the warning area will need to be especially careful to avoid any unwanted contributions to a fire season that has already begun in earnest.

In Wyoming, a 10,000-acre wildfire is burning about 25 miles south of Buffalo, and a fire sitting at just under 600 acres in size continues on the Shoshone National Forest near Wapiti.