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KUNC is among the founding partners of the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration of public media stations that serve the Western states of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Human-Caused Roosevelt Fire Destroys 55 Homes

U.S. Forest Service

Fall might be in the air, but wildfires continue to burn across the country. One of the largest is in Wyoming and has reached over 60,000 acres.

More than a 1,000 firefighters are dealing with the Roosevelt Fire just south of Jackson Hole, in the rural community of Bondurant.

It's burning in an area of pricey real estate, with both full time and resort homes. So far, over 55 homes have been confirmed as destroyed.

Gina Bonaminio is with the Forest Service. She says a fire this late in the season is not easy to contain.

"A lot of the resources are starting to time out on their seasons," said Bonaminio. "So a lot of people are hired as temporary seasonals, and so they have six months. That is their term for being able to work."

And Bonaminio said a lot of those terms ended September 30.

U.S. Forest Service Investigators concluded that the fire was caused by an abandoned campfire.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.

Copyright 2020 Wyoming Public Radio. To see more, visit .

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Maggie Mullen is a fifth generation Wyomingite, born and raised in Casper. She is currently a Masters candidate in American Studies and will defend her thesis on female body hair in contemporary American culture this May. Before graduate school, she earned her BA in English and French from the University of Wyoming. Maggie enjoys writing, cooking, her bicycle, swimming in rivers and lakes, and most any dog.
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