Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, August 19th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Converse County Tourism Promotion Board! Discover Douglas and Glenrock, where rich history, outdoor adventure, and welcoming communities await. Feel the Energy of Converse County at www.ConverseCountyTourism.com.

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With the Red Canyon Fire burning about 11 miles east of Thermopolis passing 100,000 acres in size, Gov. Mark Gordon has declared a fire emergency, even as crews report it's 28% contained.

Cowboy State Daily's Jackie Dorothy spoke to generational ranchers in the path of the fire who are working together to save their homes and cattle.

"Ranchers here are frustrated because this is a fast moving fire… they're seeing these flames leap over 60 feet swaths of land that they had torn up and hoped to hold back the fire, and it's just not holding it back… We have the perfect temperature for a hot fire. You got high winds, hot temperature and dry fuel. It's definitely a dangerous mix, and it's scary to see. The terrain that this fire is in… it is a lot of ravines, a lot of crevices. Once the fire gets into those areas, it's nearly impossible to put out, until Mother Nature interferes and gives us snow or rain."

Read the full story HERE.

The planes and helicopters have made a dramatic difference in fighting back the flames and the ranchers have been grateful to see them arrive and grow. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that there now are 425 personnel working the Red Canyon Fire.

"They brought in what they call a complex team, and that's a higher level team to manage the firefighting operations than was there before. And it comes with more people… It comes with more resources. There's a lot of aerial attacks… They're not trying to put out the fire with these things… They're dropping them around the fire to make these lines, these breaks, so that when or if the fire gets to this point, it's stopped."

Also burning in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin is the Sleeper Ranch fire northeast of Meeteetse, which has burned over 20,000 acres and is 40% contained; and the Spring Creek fire about 10 miles southeast of Ten Sleep, which has burned over 3500 acres and is 24% contained.

Read the full story HERE.

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Authorities in Campbell County had to drop attempted murder charges against three Mexican nationals when their alleged victim vanished.

Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Adrian Gonzalez-Oviedo, Adan Oviedo-Rivera, and Juan Gonzalez-Rendon were accused of beating their roommate and dumping him in a desolate and freezing stretch of Campbell County with no shoes or shirt in November of last year.

"The victim's sort of a key in the case, because they based at least a lot of their probable cause… on his interview after they found him shoeless and cold in November and beaten. And so if they were going to go to trial, and they had one trial scheduled for July and two more scheduled for August, they were going to need him, accord