Wyoming 2017 wildfire season saw many relatively small fires

Wyoming recorded an above-average number of wildfires in 2017 but the state escaped the large conflagrations that plagued other western states.

State forester Bill Crapser says Wyoming had a comparatively moderate fire season as far as large fires last year.

Crapser says Wyoming recorded about 760 wildfires on federal, state, county and private lands last year. Those fires burned at least 212,100 acres (85,833 hectares) of forest and prairie across the state.

But while the number of fires was above average for the state, he says most were quickly contained because of quick response, timely rain and no big wind events to drive the fires.

Yellowstone National Park recorded only eight fires that burned less than one acre in 2017.