Teton County assesses fire response

The National Museum of Wildlife Art reopened Tuesday after keeping its doors closed Monday to protect artwork from residual smoke damage.

On Sunday, a grass fire behind the Jackson museum burned about 60 acres and created immediate threats to the museum and several residential areas near it.

Teton County officials are crediting a multi-agency response for quickly controlling the fire. “Incidents like this only go smoothly due to planning, training, exercising, and a little luck,” said Rich Ochs, Teton County Emergency Management Coordinator.

Multiple agencies responded, including the Bridger Teton National Forest, National Elk Refuge, Grand Teton National Park, and Jackson Hole Fire/EMS. Both helicopter bucket drops and tanker retardant drops were used to fight the fire.

CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) volunteers assisted firefighters at the scene while a half-dozen volunteers manned the county’s Emergency Operations Center. And fire crews stayed on the scene overnight to insure there were no flares of fire activity.

No one was injured in the incident and no structures were damaged.