Wyoming National Forest Fires Last Year Mostly Fault of People

Nearly 90,000 acres burned in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest last year, and officials say most of the acreage charred was burned in fires started by humans.

Each year over the past 40 years, 12,400 acres of the Bridger-Teton have burned. 2012 was the second-largest fire season in Bridger-Teton history, and people were to blame for 91 percent of the acres that went up in flames last year.

While last year saw fewer wildfires than average in the Bridger-Teton, officials say the fires tended to be larger and started by people.

Bridger-Teton fire and aviation officer Tobin Kelley tells the Jackson Hole News & Guide that record dryness and high winds were to blame for the large size of the few fires that did start.