Smoke blanketing the Big Horn Basin for the last few days during the late summer season is largely due to the 28,874-acre Ross Fork Fire in central Idaho, according to the National Weather Service in Riverton.

The fire is only 2% contained, according to information from the Sawtooth National Forest east of Boise, and has been producing heavy plumes of smoke moving west to east across northwest Wyoming.

But that is about to change, said Jason Straub, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Riverton.

“A Thursday cold front will push a lot of it away,” he said Tuesday, adding north to northwest winds will instead push the smoke from the large fire into Utah.

He cautioned the area has a good chance of rainfall Thursday into Friday morning — maybe up to a quarter-inch — with a high of 57 in Powell on Friday. The low will be around 40 degrees, “not enough for frost,” he said.

Until the rain and cold rolls in, the National Weather Service has warned low humidities, hot temperatures and gusty winds could create erratic fire behavior and possibly new fire starts.

The fire danger index in Yellowstone National Park was upgraded to “very high” Tuesday and they’ve reported three small fires in the past weeks, all three were considered “out-of-control” at one time, but have since been suppressed.

The first fire of the season began as a vehicle fire in a parking lot at Old Faithful on July 20. Flames moved from the burning vehicle to the grass and burned a nearby pine tree. The fire was under 0.1 acre in size and was suppressed and declared out on the same day. 

Another 0.1-acre lightning-ignited fire just south of the Fawn Pass Trail was contained by the park’s Helitack crew on Aug. 29 and required no emergency closures.

Another very small lightning-ignited fire located west of U.S. Highway 191 between mile markers 17 and 18 near a segment of the highway that runs through the park was reported earlier in August. The fire was approximately 10 feet by 10 feet in size and was burning in brush and timber. 

The fire was suppressed by a U.S. Forest Service engine crew out of the Hebgen Ranger District.   

Currently, there are no fire restrictions in the park, however, “park staff monitor conditions and may put restrictions in place if wildland fuels continue to dry out,” according to a press release in September.

Campfires are only permitted within established fire rings in campgrounds and some backcountry campsites. Campfires must always be attended and cold to the touch before abandoning. “Soak, stir, feel, repeat,” park officials remind visitors.