More rain helps cool Yellowstone wildfires

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — More rain helped to control five wildfires burning in mostly remote areas of Yellowstone National Park but park officials were still keeping an eye out for flare-ups.

The biggest of the fires, the 12-square-mile Alum Fire, remained active around its perimeter but wasn't growing much. Heavy smoke from the fire 5 miles north of Lake Village briefly closed the road between Fishing Bridge and Canyon Village on Tuesday.

The fire calmed down considerably after heavy rain Wednesday and more rain Thursday helped keep the flames tamped down.

"But we still have a lot of personnel and equipment on hand should drier, hotter conditions prompt them to grow again in the coming days," park spokesman Al Nash said Friday.

Areas north of the Alum Fire, along the Yellowstone River, remained closed Friday. Among them were the Mud Volcano area and backcountry trails in the Hayden Valley.

More rain from scattered thunderstorms was forecast.

Yellowstone's other fires also were growing little. The Alder Fire had burned about 7 square miles of a peninsula at the south end of Yellowstone Lake.

Other fires in the park included the 150-acre Druid Fire on the north side of Druid Peak near the Northeast Entrance, and the 200-acre Snake Fire 3 miles east of the South Entrance.

A 1-acre fire, the Passage Fire, was burning at the south end of Yellowstone Lake.