Laramie County Fire District #10

04/23/2026

Media Update: April 23, 2026 10:00 AM



Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff WATCH CANCELLED for Harriman and Curt Gowdy areas





CHEYENNE, Wyo., April 23, 2026, 10:00 AM – Forecasted weather conditions have improved to the point that Black Hills Energy has cancelled today’s Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff WATCH for customers in Harriman and Curt Gowdy areas.



“Safety remains our top priority,” said Wes Ashton, vice president of South Dakota and Wyoming Utilities. “The combination of high wind speeds and low relative humidity can lead to conditions which make it unsafe to operate the electric grid. While Emergency PSPS conditions have improved, wildfire risk persists in portions of the area. Customers are encouraged to keep safety top of mind and be prepared for the possibility of unplanned power outages.”



Learn more about Black Hills Energy’s Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff program at blackhillsenergy.com/psps.

04/23/2026

Media Update: April 23, 2026 (7:30 am)



Black Hills Energy continues Public Safety Power Shutoff WATCH for Harriman and Curt Gowdy Areas due to ongoing fire risk



CHEYENNE, Wyo., April 23, 2026 (7:30 am) – As dry and windy conditions continue throughout the area, Black Hills Energy continues its Public Safety Power Shutoff WATCH for customers in Harriman and Curt Gowdy areas. Black Hills Energy will monitor weather conditions throughout the morning and asks customers under the PSPS WATCH declaration to prepare for the possibility of emergency power outages should conditions change.



Black Hills Energy will notify impacted customers with a variety of methods including text messages and emails and through local media.



For more information on Public Safety Power Shutoff and how to prepare for an emergency please visit Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff event update | Black Hills Energy

04/22/2026

Black Hills Energy declares Public Safety Power Shutoff Watch Period for Curt Gowdy and Harriman; customers encouraged to prepare for possible power outages late morning to early evening Thursday



CHEYENNE, Wyo., April 22, 2026 – Due to high fire-risk conditions in Thursday’s forecast, Black Hills Energy has declared an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Watch for the Harriman and Curt Gowdy areas, west of Cheyenne. The PSPS Watch will be in effect starting on Thursday, April 23 in the late morning and into evening hours. This means that if conditions persist, the company may need to temporarily shut off power to approximately 370 customers in these areas mid-day Thursday to mitigate the risk of electrical infrastructure becoming a source of wildfire ignition. Customers under the PSPS Watch declaration are urged to prepare for the possibility of emergency power outages needed to protect public safety and prevent wildfire.



“The safety of our customers, employees and communities is our highest priority,” said Wes Ashton, vice president of South Dakota and Wyoming Utilities. “Our Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff program, or PSPS, is a critical tool for wildfire prevention and used as a last-resort measure to protect lives and property and will only be activated in areas with elevated wildfire risk.”



“We recognize that shutting off power, even to reduce wildfire risks, has broad impacts,” said Ashton. “We will do our best to provide as much advance notice as possible if an emergency power shutoff is likely to occur, by issuing a PSPS Warning. If conditions suddenly become hazardous, power may need to be shut off with little or no notice.”



Black Hills Energy will notify impacted customers with a variety of methods including text messages and emails and through local media. The company will also provide updates on the Black Hills Energy website to help keep the public informed throughout the PSPS event.



If a power line is proactively de-energized during an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff, Black Hills Energy advises that the power will not be turned back on until conditions improve, crews have inspected power lines, and any necessary repairs are made. This process may result in outages lasting a few hours or a few days, depending on the location and extent of any damage.




How you can prepare

Keep your contact information up to date with Black Hills Energy so we can provide safety notifications and direct you to our website for helpful tips and resources. Visit blackhillsenergy.com/my-account.
Have a backup plan for medicine that needs to be refrigerated or medical equipment that is powered by electricity. This could mean finding a place to go during an outage or having a backup generator.
Build an emergency kit and plan and share with friends and neighbors.
If you see downed powerlines, stay away and call 911.


How to stay informed

For more information on an Emergency PSPS visit blackhillsenergy.com/psps
Our page

Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff At Black Hills Energy, your safety is our top priority. When conditions increase wildfire risk, we may temporarily turn off power in high-risk areas to protect you and our communities. This is called an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).We understand....

04/17/2026

04/17/2026

With the weather starting to change, make sure you mark your calendars for this year’s summer picnic!

04/16/2026

🚨 Stay Safe, Stay Informed – Sign Up for RAVE Alerts Today 🚨

Laramie County Fire District #10 encourages all residents to sign up for the RAVE Mobile Safety System—a critical tool that helps keep you and your family safe during emergencies.

In our district, emergencies can happen quickly—whether it’s interstate accidents, wildland fires, hazardous material incidents, or severe weather. When they do, timely information can make all the difference.

RAVE allows emergency officials to send you real-time alerts about situations that may impact your safety, including:

Evacuations and road closures
Wildfires and fast-moving incidents
Hazardous material spills
Severe weather warnings
Missing persons and public safety alerts

📱 Why it matters for our community:

Our rural area means long distances and limited immediate notifications
Many incidents—especially along I-80—can escalate quickly
You may not always see smoke, traffic backups, or danger until it’s too late

RAVE helps bridge that gap by putting critical information directly in your hands.

✅ By signing up, you can:

Receive alerts by phone, text, or email
Add multiple addresses (home, work, family members)
Provide important info to responders (medical needs, access issues, etc.)
Stay ahead of emergencies instead of reacting to them

🛑 Bottom line:
When seconds matter, being informed saves lives.

⸻

👉 Sign up today:
Visit www.laramiecountywy.gov and click on the RAVE Mobile Safety link
—or scan the QR code on the flyer.

04/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/18A8YFAFAN/?mibextid=wwXIfr

In the summer of 1910, a man named Edward Pulaski led 45 men out of a burning forest in northern Idaho and into a mine tunnel and held them there at gunpoint while the greatest wildfire in American history burned over them.
The Big Blowup of August 1910 burned three million acres across Idaho and Montana in two days — driven by hurricane-force winds that turned individual fires into a single continental conflagration. It killed 85 people, most of them firefighters. It is still the largest wildfire in recorded American history.
Pulaski was a Forest Service ranger based in Wallace, Idaho, forty-three years old, a former miner and surveyor who had been fighting the fires in the Coeur d'Alene National Forest since August 19. On the evening of August 20, the wind changed and the fire exploded around his crew. He made a decision in minutes: a mine tunnel he knew about, two miles away, was the only shelter that might survive what was coming.
He led 45 men through burning forest to the tunnel entrance. By the time they reached it, several men were trying to run — panic, which Pulaski understood was reasonable and lethal. He stood at the tunnel entrance with his service revolver and told the men that anyone who ran would be shot.
He did not intend to shoot anyone. He intended to save everyone, and panic was the mechanism most likely to kill them.
The men went in. Pulaski worked at the tunnel entrance, beating out flames with his hat, pouring water from a nearby ditch onto the portal timbers to keep the entrance from igniting, working until he collapsed from smoke inhalation. When he regained consciousness the fire had passed. He called into the darkness: "Are the men still alive?" A voice from inside answered: "Yes, but barely."
Five men died in the tunnel from smoke inhalation. Forty survived. Without the tunnel, the survival count would almost certainly have been zero.
Pulaski survived but was permanently blinded in one eye and had reduced lung capacity for the rest of his life from the smoke. The Forest Service initially proposed to deny his disability claim on procedural grounds. A public outcry — the story had been reported nationally — forced a reversal.
The most lasting consequence of Edward Pulaski's survival, beyond the forty men he kept alive, was a tool. During his recovery, Pulaski designed a firefighting implement that combined an axe and an adze in a single head — allowing a firefighter to both chop and grub with one tool. He manufactured the first prototypes himself. The Forest Service adopted it in 1913. It became the standard wildland firefighting tool in America and remains so today.
It is called a Pulaski.
Every wildland firefighter in America uses one. Most of them know the name. Some of them know the story behind it — a man who held forty-five panicking men in a mine tunnel at gunpoint and then, during his recovery, designed a better axe because there was still work to do.

03/23/2026

Another team headed out to go fight fire! Stay safe guys!

03/18/2026

Good morning,

Due to extremely dry conditions and elevated fuel loads, Laramie County has implemented Stage 1 Fire Restrictions.

Effective: March 18, 2026, at 8:00 a.m.
Duration: Until further notice by the Board of County Commissioners

These restrictions apply to all state and private lands within the unincorporated areas of Laramie County, including lands owned by or in which the County has an interest.

Stage 1 Fire Restrictions – Summary

The following restrictions and exemptions are in effect:
• Prohibited:
• Discharge of fireworks
• Outdoor fires in unimproved areas
• Allowed (with conditions):
• Campfires at residences or designated campsites, only within a fire ring and a minimum 15-foot cleared radius free of burnable materials
• Trash/refuse burning between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., in containers equipped with spark arresters and within a minimum 15-foot cleared radius
• Charcoal fires in enclosed grills
• Welding, cutting, and grinding (acetylene torches, arc welders, metal grinding) within a minimum 15-foot cleared radius
• Portable stoves and lanterns using gas, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel
• Fully enclosed stoves (sheepherder-type) and open-fire branding activities, all within a minimum 15-foot cleared radius

Please ensure all activities are conducted safely and in compliance with these restrictions.

If you have any questions or need clarification, do not hesitate to reach out.

Stay Safe

LCFD10

03/14/2026

Our FFs helping out in Nebraska.

03/14/2026

Power out for public safety extends to Harriman area; restoration efforts to begin after critical fire weather passes



CHEYENNE, WY, March 14, 2026 (3 p.m.) – Hazardous wind gusts and low relative humidity are creating dangerous fire conditions today. To protect public safety, Black Hills Energy has expanded its Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) to the Harriman area west of Cheyenne in addition to the Curt Gowdy area, totaling approximately 370 customers. The city of Cheyenne is not impacted. Power will be out until conditions improve and it is safe to re-energize power lines serving these areas. For more information about the areas impacted by today’s PSPS, visit blackhillsenergy.com/outages.



Black Hills Energy recognizes that shutting off power, even to reduce wildfire risks, has broad impacts and will provide as much advance notice as possible through social media, email, text messages, phone calls and our website.



Please make sure your contact information is up to date so you can receive these notifications. As a reminder, you can add additional contacts to receive safety notifications in your online account.



Black Hills Energy reminds everyone that customers outside the active Public Safety Power Shutoff area may also experience outages due to high winds, enhanced protection settings on our lines that help prevent wildfire ignitions when a fault is detected, or other factors. Outages may last longer than usual since we’ll need to inspect the lines to make sure they can be re-energized safely.



Important safety reminders

If you see downed powerlines, stay away and call 911.


How to stay informed

For more information on an Emergency PSPS visit blackhillsenergy.com/psps
Our page


# # #

Media contact

James Williams [email protected]

Regional Manager Public Affairs 316-941-1648

Black Hills Energy



24-Hour media assistance

888-242-3969

Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff At Black Hills Energy, your safety is our top priority. When conditions increase wildfire risk, we may temporarily turn off power in high-risk areas to protect you and our communities. This is called an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).We understand....

03/14/2026

Power out for public safety in the Curt Gowdy area; restoration efforts to begin after critical fire weather passes



CHEYENNE, WY, March 14, 2026 (12:30 p.m.) – Hazardous wind gusts and low relative humidity are creating dangerous fire conditions today. To protect public safety, Black Hills Energy has implemented an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) for approximately 300 customers in the Curt Gowdy area. The Harriman area is still under a PSPS warning. The city of Cheyenne is not impacted. Power will be out until conditions improve and it is safe to re-energize power lines serving these areas. For more information about the areas impacted by today’s PSPS, visit blackhillsenergy.com/outages.



Black Hills Energy has pre-staged crews in impacted areas to expedite the restoration process. Once hazardous fire weather conditions have passed, Black Hills Energy crews will patrol power lines to ensure they are safe to be re-energized.



This process may result in extended outages, depending on the location and extent of any damage to the system resulting from this hazardous weather event. Black Hills Energy will continue to keep impacted customers informed throughout this PSPS event through text messages, emails, and phone calls.



Black Hills Energy reminds everyone that customers outside the active Public Safety Power Shutoff area may also experience outages due to high winds, enhanced protection settings on our lines that help prevent wildfire ignitions when a fault is detected, or other factors. Outages may last longer than usual since we’ll need to inspect the lines to make sure they can be re-energized safely.



“We recognize that shutting off power, even to reduce wildfire risks, has broad impacts,” said Wes Ashton, vice president of South Dakota and Wyoming Utilities. “We will work as quickly as possible to restore power when it is safe to do so.”



Important safety reminders

If you see downed powerlines, stay away and call 911.


How to stay informed

For more information on an Emergency PSPS visit blackhillsenergy.com/psps
Our page


# # #

Media contact

James Williams [email protected]

Regional Manager Public Affairs 316-941-1648

Black Hills Energy

Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff At Black Hills Energy, your safety is our top priority. When conditions increase wildfire risk, we may temporarily turn off power in high-risk areas to protect you and our communities. This is called an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).We understand....