Community Briefed On Fire Activity

Approximately 500 Jackson residents were on hand Monday evening as fire officials and community leaders provided updates about the Little Horse Thief Fire, the efforts being undertaken to control that fire and contingency plans in place to protect residents.  Incident Commander Chris Ourada told the crowd that already, over a million dollars has been spent in efforts to stop the fire’s progress.  Ourada says there are approximately 112 people including 11 hotshot crews working the fire supported by two bulldozers, five heliclopters and several heavy air tankers out of California.  He adds that the fire has achieved high national priority enabling officials to readily obtain resources even at a time those resources are becoming scarce nationally.  The Little Horse Thief Canyon Fire grew about 600 acres Monday and continued to move primarily to the northeast, rather than directly toward town. The fire is now 2,700 acres and 10 percent contained. Ground forces were supported by aircraft dropping fire retardant and water on the northwest flank, which is closest to the town of Jackson.  The southeastern corner of the town of Jackson remains under evacuation advisory, and while details of how an evacuation would be handled were outlined, no mandatory evacuations have been imposed.