Weiser Knoll Fire Burns 16,531 Acres Near Lander, Wyoming

Progress has been made on Wyoming's biggest fire this summer.

Weiser Knoll Fire near Lander/South Pass Update:
Currently at least 16,531 acres with 30% containment.

U.S. Wildland Fire Service wildland firefighters are responding to the Weiser Knoll Fire, which was reported on August 9, 2026, at approximately 2:15 p.m.

The cause of the fire is thought to be a hot or overheated trailer wheel bearing.

MORE GOOD NEWS! - The area should be getting some rain on Thursday and Friday of this week.

Fire crews are fighting on both ground and air. You can watch some of the best videos we could find below.

Let's start with some great music that goes with some aerial bombing runs.

That red stuff you see the planes drop, called "slurry," is not designed to put the fire out. It's called a "fire suppressant." It is laid out in front of the fire, making it hard for the fire to ignite anything in that area.

Slurry is biodegradable. The red color is added so pilots can see where they dropped it last, which helps them build the fire line.

Helicopters can drop a large bucket of water on sudden flare-ups, which is also an effort to keep the fire from spreading.

The fire is fought by denying fuel to the advancement.

Wildfire containment is the strategy of surrounding a fire with a complete physical or natural barrier (a control line) to stop its spread, measured as a percentage of the perimeter secured. It does not mean the fire is completely out, but rather that it is trapped and cannot advance.

Most of the aircraft you see are coming from Casper, Wyoming.

Let's have a look at Casper's new air wildfire battle base.

The Casper/Natrona County International Airport is enjoying its upgraded firefighting planes.

Nobody likes a summer fire, but it does keep the airport busy with interesting water bombers coming and going.

The airport has been posting photos and videos of these fantastic planes on its Facebook page.

For several years the two firefighting planes would arrive for fire season and park in a temporary area on the east corner of the airport.

They would run a long hose from a fire hydrant to a holding tank to refill the planes for another fire run.

Yes, the big boys have found a new home in central Wyoming.

While stationed in Casper, these serious firefighting machines have a long range and can fight across several states.

Before the new facilities she built at the fire season's end, they would pack up and go home.

Photo By Tim Mandese, Focus West Photography

Now, for some of these planes, Casper is home.

Now, they have a permanent base at the airport, and they no longer need to run a long hose to a fire hydrant.

After six years of planning, designing, and construction, the Airport grounds are now the home base for a new BLM Single Engine Air Tankers (SEAT) and Large Air Tankers (LAT) Base.

HOLD ON- what is a SEAT and LAT base?

It's a base that loads firefighting aircraft with anything they need, from water to chemicals, to fight fires. That's the simplest, nontechnical explanation there is.

Below is the new cover photo for the Casper/Natrona County Airport.

The facility was constructed in Collaboration with BLM, Wyoming State Forestry Division, and U.S. Forest Service.

It is the only base in the country jointly built by the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service.

Below is an exciting video of a firefighting plane from Casper in action.

Casper is also the exclusive home to two SEAT planes, contracted by the Wyoming State Forestry Division.

The modernized base now has the ability to load two planes (SEAT and/or LAT) at the same time with a maximum daily output of 80,000–90,000 gallons of mixed retardant compared to the previous 15,000-gallon output.