Fishing Bridge, WY - Lighter winds and cooler temperatures yesterday and today have aided firefighters working the East Complex fire in Yellowstone National Park. Fire Crews are making good progress in their efforts to build fire lines to contain the eastern flanks of both the East and Grizzly fires.

The East fire continues to burn high on the north side of the Crow Creek drainage in the vicinity of Silvertip Peak. The fire is pushing up against an old burn that is helping to slow the expansion the fire. Water drops from a heavy helicopter and six loads of retardant assisted direct-line construction by five crews. Air operations have been focused on the establishment of a wilderness spike camp northwest of Crow Creek Pass and supporting suppression operations.

The Grizzly fire continues to creep downhill on the northeast side of Grizzly Peak and is now approximately one-half mile from the East Entrance Road near Sylvan Lake. On the south side of the fire, crews are working to construct line to connect natural fuel breaks (meadows, rock, etc.) along the ridgeline extending from the southeast arm of Yellowstone Lake to Sylvan Pass.

As of 5:00 pm Friday afternoon, there are currently NO Evacuation notifications in place for Pahaska Teepee or the North Fork Valley communities. If the fire moves into the bottom of the Crow or Middle Creek drainages, pre-evacuation notices will be initiated to nearby residents. The fire team will be working closely with the Park County Sheriff's Department and will update nearby residents immediately if the situation changes.

As a precautionary measure, structure protection (irrigation sprinklers) have been put into place at the Park's East Entrance and at Pahaska Tepee. The Park County Fire District in cooperation with the National Park Service and the Incident Management Team is implementing structure protection, working their way down the North Fork Valley to the east.

Reopening of the East Entrance Road will be delayed until a planned burnout operation along a 1.5-mile stretch of the East Entrance Road near Sylvan Lake is completed. Completion of the burnout operation will help secure the road and greatly increase the safety of the road for public travel. The good news is that fire crews have made excellent progress preparing already burned-over sections of the road for eventual reopening. If weather cooperates, and the fire is not directly threatening the road, fire and park officials hope to reopen the East Entrance Road sometime next week.

PLEASE NOTE: Park viewpoints, trails and facilities in the Fishing Bridge, Yellowstone Lake, Bridge Bay and Grant Village areas remain open for business as usual. Lodging and businesses west of Cody along the North Fork Road corridor remain open. The east entrance (Cody side) is the only park entrance affected by the fire.

Fire activity on the East Fire Complex was minimal today and acreages did not change significantly. The number of personnel and equipment assigned to the incident is essentially the same as that reported yesterday.