Yellowstone blaze forces evacuation

Residents pushed out by the Jackson-area fires cheered news they would be allowed to return home

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming (CNN) -- Fire forced park rangers to close one of the main entrances to Yellowstone National Park on Monday and prompted some park employees and their families to evacuate.

Meanwhile, residents evacuated because of other fires near the resort town of Jackson prepared to return home Monday after firefighters said most of those blazes were under control.

The Yellowstone fire has burned more than 800 acres within the park since it was reported Sunday afternoon. Authorities are hoping a cold front expected to move into the area on Tuesday will bring lower temperatures, rain and lighter winds that could aid firefighting efforts.

The blaze, dubbed the Arthur fire, is about two miles inside the park, in an area untouched by the massive Yellowstone fires of 1988. Authorities suspect lightning was the cause, park spokesman Cheryl Matthews said.

"It's in an old-growth area with very heavy fuels," Matthews said.

The park's east entrance, about 50 miles west of Cody, was closed to the public. The nearest open entrance is on the northeast, near Cooke City, Montana -- a detour of nearly 100 miles.

About a dozen Yellowstone employees have been evacuated. Some employees near the east entrance stayed behind because they are trained as firefighters, she said.

The National Park Service planned to have an "incident management team" in place Monday evening to add to the 60 people already fighting the fire, Matthews said. Firefighting has been limited to aerial drops of flame-retardant material because of the steep, remote terrain involved.

The fire also threatens Shoshone National Forest, which is adjacent to Yellowstone and has about 70 private homes within it, she said.

Meanwhile, officials said most people evacuated because of a fire in the Bridger-Teton National Forest outside Jackson, Wyoming, would be allowed to return Monday evening. Firefighters said that blaze, known as the Green Knoll fire, is about 70 percent contained.

About 100 families had been evacuated from five subdivisions. The residents will be able to return to their homes in all but the Indian Paintbrush subdivision, which is closest to the most active part of the fires, officials said Monday.

Some of the threatened homes, in the hills outside the trendy resort town south of Yellowstone, are valued at millions of dollars. No homes have been lost to the flames.

The fire started about a week ago, possibly from an campfire. It has charred an estimated 4,470 acres. Close to 1,300 firefighters have been mobilized in the battle.

The town of Jackson was not threatened by the fire, officials said. Grand Teton National Park, outside the town, remained open.