Homeowner Bill Pratt and his wife were working in Woods Landing when they received the pre evacuation notice. “They said to leave,” Pratt said. The notice did not mention what items to take from their home. Pratt made sure his horses and dogs were looked after in nearby Laramie and that his children and wife were safe in Loveland, Colo. and Fort Collins, Colo.

“I was told to leave but of course I didn’t,” Pratt said.

Another Woods Landing resident stayed with his wife in a camper in Laramie. He left his sprinklers running on his roof in an attempt to fight the fire, the Associated Press reported.

The Fourth of July fireworks show was canceled in Woods Landing and surrounding communities to prevent further fires. In Colorado one homemade sign read, “FAIR WARNING: Anyone using or allowing use of fireworks in this neighborhood will be dealt with harshly! And that doesn’t mean just by the police!”

Firefighters from Big Laramie Volunteer Fire Department, Little Laramie, Centennial, Tie Siding, the Forest Service and hot shot crews from around the country fought the wildfire with engines, helicopters and airplanes from the Air Force according to Big Laramie Fire Fighter Larry Laflam.

“We work to help each other,” Bill Sheehan, Big Laramie firefighter and owner of Woods Landing, said. “We are a very close knit group and it’s nice to be a part of it.”

Saturday June 30 the local fire fighters fought to protect structures along Fox Creek Road.

“It was Hell there was fire everywhere,” Laflam said.

Laflam was riding in engine six fighting the fire and said “the glass was hot with flames.”

With the help of weekend rain the wildfire was declared 100 percent contained on July 9, according to the Albany County website.

Residents and local business made signs in support of the firefighters.  “The community stepped right up,” Laflam said. A local Quality Inn rented half price rooms, allowed late checkout and alowed pets for evacuees.

“All residents are relieved,” Sheehan said. “Hopefully nothing else will happen.”

Zoe N. McDonald

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“Wyoming farmers and ranchers are struggling to work through serious impacts caused by drought,” Mead said.

If the declaration is granted, it could provide federal emergency assistance to Wyoming producers, according to a governor’s office press release.

“Over the past month, county commissioners throughout Wyoming have requested agricultural disaster designations for the 2012 agricultural production year. After consultation with the Wyoming Farm Service Agency it is clear that every Wyoming county with the exception of Teton County has suffered grazing loss and dry land hay loss in excess of the disaster threshold,” Mead said.

The Board of Albany County Commissioners found there is an extreme danger of fire throughout Albany County because there is a presence of an excessive amount of flammable materials and open burning and the use of incendiary devices aggravate the high fire danger.

Effective June 15 and until further notice any open fire, discharge of any common fireworks or display fireworks and the discharge of a firearm using incendiary or tracer ammunition is prohibited on all land within Albany County.

In addition to the drought disaster declaration, 12 counties, including Albany County, have instituted fire bans.

“There is a ban on fires on all state lands,” Mead said.

“The legislature had the wisdom to leave this as a matter of local control and the county commissioners are in the best position to review conditions near to home and decide which activities should be prohibited,” Mead said.

There are multiple exceptions that can be found on the Albany County website.

Dani Esquivel

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Photo: Zoe N. McDonald

This fall Y Cross ranch could be sold, in a move that frustrates students, donors and the Wyoming community.

The 50,000-acre ranch sits in the heart of southeast Wyoming spanning 78 square miles between Laramie and Cheyenne.

A Denver philanthropist, Amy Davis, donated Y Cross ranch, cattle and machinery to CSU and UW in 1997 to aid agricultural programs.

Davis told the Associated Press, “I don’t think they’ve taken advantage in the last 14 years of what this ranch opportunity should have given to the students.”

“CSU professors didn’t know the ranch was available [for internships],” CSU summer ranch intern Ben Wurz said.

UW student, Drake Jorns, only knew about the internships when he looked up the ranch online.

“The ranch is intended to be a model of a working cattle ranch and to provide opportunities for students,” ranch caretaker Manny Monserrate said.

“Most students in the department now do not come from an agricultural background and are not familiar with agriculture in general. Internships on the Y Cross provide the much needed understanding of agricultural and the livestock industry from the ground up,” said Annette Monserrate in a letter to UW President Tom Buchanan.

“You can’t learn [ranching] in a classroom,” Jorns said.

“I’ve been ranching for almost 40 years and am still learning,” Manny Monserrate said. “We are here to teach the next generation how to work.”

To date, the ranch has had 25 interns and employees from both universities studying geology, range and wildlife management, and equine studies. The ranch also provides student scholarships.

“For the state of Wyoming to support the sale of a beneficial educational gift to the students of Wyoming and Colorado appears unethical and endangers the university’s Land Grant Mission,” said Annette  Monserrate in a letter to the state legislator. “Neighbors and the ranching community are aware of the facts surrounding the issue and are watching to see if the education of future leaders and the ethics of our political system are upheld.”

UW dean of the College of Agriculture, Francis Galey, told the AP, “It’s a very, very efficient and lean working operation. So the way it was set up staffing-wise, there just wasn’t a way to accommodate the teaching we wanted to do.”

In 2009, negotiations began for CSU to buy out UW’s portion of the ranch. The Davis Foundation agreed to help CSU purchase UW’s half of the ranch, but negations fell through as UW refused to be bought out.

The two schools attempted to trade Y Cross with land east of Laramie last year but decided that the land swap would not follow the intent of the gift.

In early June the presidents of CSU and UW met in La Jolla, Calif. to announce that they are moving forward with the sale of the ranch.

The ranch will be sold under a sealed bid method and could be sold early fall. Davis told the AP she estimates the ranch could be worth between $20 and $30 million.

The profits from the sale will be used to fund agricultural scholarships and internships at both schools.

Taylor Haynes, a Cheyenne area rancher told the AP, “Basically it’s a great teaching tool and it’s just too bad it would be gone.”

Zoe N. McDonald

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An bird-eye view of the Wyo./Colo. wildfires just north of Laramie. PHOTO: Bob Sylar.

Cooler temperatures and calmer winds Wednesday helped quell a wildfire burning in a remote and mountainous area of the Medicine Bow National Forest in east-central Wyoming, giving firefighters time to reposition helicopters and other equipment before hot, dry conditions return this weekend.

The Russell’s Camp fire is located about 30 miles south of Glenrock and has burned about 4 square miles since Sunday.

It remained completely uncontained as of Wednesday afternoon.

But fire spokeswoman Laura McConnell said the eastern edge of the fire was relatively quiet after strong winds caused active burning the previous three days.

“It’s kind of light and breezy,” McConnell said. “It’s certainly not the sustained gusts and heavy winds that we’ve had the last several days.”

There are about 300 firefighters and six helicopters assigned to the fire — the cause of which remains undetermined.

“In talking with our safety officer and folks around base camp, it was pretty much a quiet day,” McConnell said.

McConnell said fire managers took advantage of the better conditions Wednesday to reposition the base for the helicopters.

“The helibase was getting moved closer to the fire so it’s a shorter turnaround time,” she said.

Hot, dry conditions that lead to more active fire behavior are expected to return by this weekend, McConnell said.

“Saturday and Sunday are looking as being two days of concern,” she said.

Elsewhere, a wildfire that began in Wyoming on Tuesday burned into northern Colorado, but firefighters have already managed 90 percent containment. The fire has burned about 550 acres of juniper and brush.

What ignited the fire is under investigation.

And Guernsey State Park, which was closed down by a 2,500-acre wildfire in southeast Wyoming last week, is now completely open, according to the state parks department. The park was partially reopened last weekend.

Associated Press

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After officers were able to sort out participants, 19-year-old Deandre H. Stephens was stopped and identified as also participant in the fight. Stephens was found to have a $30,000 bond for a Bench Warrant for Delivery of a Controlled Substance, and arrested, according to the statement.

Citations for the other participants included assault and battery as well as under age consumption.

Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver is a felony and Stephens could face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

If readers have more information, witness accounts or any other useful leads, please inform the Branding Iron either via bi@uwyo.edu or send us a message on Facebook account. Further updates will be added to the story as information comes in.

David Demic

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A truck rests along the banks of Westbound Interstate 80 from Cheyenne to Laramie. According to the Wyoming Department of Transportation, the weather will likely continue to be a threat to vehicles until Thursday morning. (Photo: Seneca Riggins)

The Associated Press reported that strong winds are expected to continue in parts of Colorado and Wyoming through Thursday.

Nearby, a high wind warning is also in effect in Colorado through 5 a.m. Thursday for the eastern slope of Front Range mountains and foothills, with peak gusts of up to 100 mph.

Both eastbound and westbound portions of Interstate 80 Laramie were closed throughout the day toward Cheyenne, as well as parts of Highway 287.

Stretches of Interstate 25 from Colorado to Wheatland, Wyo., were closed to light, high-profile vehicles Tuesday evening.

Roads in southeast Wyoming have been closed for a significant amount of time and weather forecasts indicate another storm is moving into the state.

In a statement, the Wyoming Department of Transportation said snow moved into the western portion of the state and will develop in the state’s mountains (Big Horns, Sierra Madre and Snowy Range) and in the northeast later today and tonight.

WYDOT said because of weather conditions, very strong sustained west winds and gusts from 65 to 75 mph will develop across much of the state. This will be a prolonged wind event with the very strong, gusty winds continuing through at least Thursday morning. Several high wind warnings and watches are in effect.

As of Tuesday evening, vehicle blow-over potential was considered extremely high for high profile, light weight vehicles, if not imminent along Interstate 80 and Interstate 25 in south-east Wyoming over the next 48 hours, according to WYDOT.

Winds will increase today and some blow-over threats will be increasing later today and tonight but it will be Wednesday and especially Wednesday night and Thursday morning where winds will be at their worst.

Seneca Riggins

Seneca Riggins is the Editor-in-Chief for the 2011/2012 Branding Iron.

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An officer inspects the aftermath of the vehicle crash yesterday evening on the intersection of 15th and Ivinson. Photo: Ed Timmons

A student driving south on 15^th street lost control of his vehicle and ran a red light at roughly 6:30 p.m. The vehicle veered left into a group of five or six students, hitting one of them and crashing into another vehicle parked in the White Hall parking lot.

The two students in the hospital are the driver and the student who was struck. When contacted for information, Ivinson Memorial Hospital was not able to comment or release the names of the students.

Branding Iron reporter Dakoda Barker witnessed the crash and said he was very shaken by the event.

“I was freaking out,” Barker said. “I saw a guy get smashed by a car.”

Hannah Wheeler

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Workshops will be held in Laramie Feb. 9 to teach women skills and tools they can use to be elected into a public office. The workshops, which are open to all women, are intended to help women obtain ideas for strong leadership.

Wyoming Women’s Foundation will host events in Cody and Laramie with the help of the Wyoming Women’s Legislative Caucus. On March 1-2 the organizations will present a reception, dinner and more workshops in Cheyenne.

Rebekah Smith, program coordinator of the WyWF, said, “Their newfound knowledge will give them the confidence they need to pursue leadership opportunities.”

Seminars will teach women the steps needed to run for office, attain leadership positions and build professional networks, Smith said.

“When women are represented more equally to men, then our leaders will focus more on women’s interests.”

Smith said, after attending these events, we encourage women to run for any position. The organizations would like to see more women represent a board of directors relative to them as well to provide more diversity in Wyoming offices.

Smith said, producing more women leaders in the state would affect all families because more attention will be focused on women’s interests.

“Economic self-sufficiency for women is one example of an issue that women leaders can work on that will benefit everyone in the state,” Smith said.

More specific workshops will be provided as well. The workshops will include campaign planning, communication and leadership development, and investing leadership in communities.

Katie Groke Ellis, a White House Project Rocky Mountain Regional Director, will lead the training sessions. Her background consists of running ballot initiative campaigns and grassroots organizing, Smith said.

Smith said local events focus their time on building self-esteem and confidence in women. After the reception in Cheyenne, women will be able to attend more in-depth seminars.

Last year, the events in Gillette and Evanston hosted about 100 women. Smith said this year they expect to attract 100 in Cody, 50 in Laramie and 200 in Cheyenne.

Each year the workshop locations will change to give all women a chance to attend.

Registration information can be found at at www.wywf.org.

Hailey Czarnecki

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Whitney Ladwig and Justin Hallman harvest kohlrabi at the Agriculture Community Resources for Everyday. Sustainability Student Farm. The primary role of the ACRES farm us to promote sustainable growing. (Photo: Courtesy)

“My role involves a lot of planning and organizing,” Legg said. “I sometimes run the meetings, I help get everyone on the same page, hang up posters.”

Legg said she was also had other farm-related responsibilities, such as making sure seeds get ordered on time and coordinating volunteers to help plant.

Legg started her involvement as a volunteer, and in the past three years has fulfilled the roles of secretary, assistant manager and now vice president.

Legg said the primary role of the ACRES farm was to promote sustainable growing practice in the community.

“Our main purpose is just to bring sustainable practices in vegetable farming to the Laramie community and then pass on those benefits to university students as well as Laramie community members,” Legg said.

Legg said in addition to the experience of working on the farm, ACRES farm also provided opportunities for research and internships.

“We have lots of research opportunities and internship opportunities if students are in a degree program that requires an internship,” Legg said. “If students are conducting research on plants then they’re more than welcome to use some of our land to do their research.”

Legg said the farm used compost to continue the sustainable practices and had a campus collection bin in the works.

“We drive our little farm truck around town twice a week and pick up kitchen scraps from restaurants in Laramie, restaurants in the union, and from the Washakie dining center,” she said. “We’re working on getting a community compost drop off bin on campus. Students could just bring their vegetable scraps, drop them off next to the recycling bins and then we’d take them up to the farm and compost them into really good dirt.”

Legg said ACRES farm also tried to run several events throughout each year.

“We try and do a couple of big events every year outside of having people come out to the farm,” Legg sad. “Last fall we did a concert with the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. This semester we’re working on screening a film for Earth Day.”

ACRES Farm is located on the corner of 30th and Harney Streets, across from the golf course.

“I always tell people it’s on top of the tallest and windiest hill in Laramie,” Legg said.

Legg said that her involvement with ACRES farm has also helped her on a personal level.

“It’s made me get back to basics a little bit,” she said. “Being a student, I tend to get wrapped up in school and studying and all of these other things but then just going out to the farm and getting back to the really basic source of life: growing vegetables and growing your food and doing it in a way that is really close to the earth. I think it’s a really good thing.”

Dakoda Barker

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